


Pesky Trinemates

by Petrifox



Category: Transformers - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Human, Attempted Sexual Assault, Domestic, F/F, Fluff, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Human-ish AU, M/M, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Starscream gets doted on by his trine, but they look human and eat food and stuff, started out boring and now a plot starts to form, they still use that good Cybertronian vocabulary
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-03
Updated: 2019-10-18
Packaged: 2019-10-21 08:29:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 38,175
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17639330
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Petrifox/pseuds/Petrifox
Summary: Starscream is stuck in a dead end job and Skywarp and Thundercracker are worried about him. Will they manage to help him make the right decisions at the right times? Will Starscream even let them help?It's fluff, it's romance, it's slow burn, it's that collegeAU nobody asked for!(Started out as an excuse for domestic trine stuff and now it's this whole thing.)





	1. coming home

**Author's Note:**

> Hello!  
> This is super self-indulgent and I apologise for the complete lack of plot.  
> I just wanted to write some domestic trine stuff so that's what I did.  
> Also they're human in this but still use Cybertronian expressions bc it just felt better,  
> but I don't have an in-universe explanation for it lmao.
> 
> Also I picture them to look feminine but they use he/him pronouns in this.  
> If smut does eventually happen it'll be more apparent tho I suPPOSE.
> 
> Not beta'd and also my English gets a little weird sometimes.  
> Anyway enjoy!

Tired beyond belief, Starscream slowly made his way up the stairs to his apartment, the one a floor above Thundercracker and Skywarp's shared apartment. He was in a foul mood. After another terrible run-in with his boss at today's meeting and watching the company he had helped to build from the ground slowly deteriorate, he was frustrated and exhausted.

Sighing, he stopped in front of his former teammates' door. Both of them had quit their jobs at his company about half a year ago. With the way things were going, he could not really blame them, even though a part of him wanted to.

Thundercracker now worked from home as an independent writer and author, and Skywarp had joined some kind of military organization he still worked for. For Starscream, quitting was not an option, no matter how much he wanted to. After all, he was the co-CEO of the company and fully intended to take over once he had gotten rid of his business partner. He just... had not yet. He tried though.

He shook his head to get the depressing trail of thought to stop. Still standing in front of the door, a part of him wanted to knock, ask if he could join them for dinner, maybe curl into them on the couch, but his pride would not allow it. He was still embarrassed about the incident the week before, when Skywarp (of all people) had come upstairs to ask if he could borrow some milk.

Starscream had tried to kick him out, but Skywarp, while loudly accusing him of being stingy, had brushed past the much slighter body, determined to steal the milk if he had to. However, after having opened every single cabinet in Starscream's kitchen in record time, he had only found a box of instant mashed potatoes. Ignoring Starscream's screeching, Skywarp had unceremoniously thrown him over his shoulder and taken him downstairs, where he was promptly lectured by both of them and given a meal. Ever since then, Thundercracker had been checking the contents of his kitchen every other day. Starscream found it very unfair to be held to their standards, since Thundercracker, the only one of them who was actually good at the whole self-care thing, worked from home.

Feeling another wave of exhaustion hit him, he tore his eyes away from the door. Just as he was about to continue his way upstairs, the door he had been staring at swung open to reveal Thundercracker carrying a trash bag. Before Starscream could greet or acknowledge him, TC, chipper as ever, had already taken in his tired posture and smiled at him.

"Hey Star! You're home late," he said, and in a swift movement grabbed Starscream's wrist with his free hand and gently but firmly pulled him towards the door. "Why don't you come in, dinner is just about ready. I'll be right back, so make yourself at home. Skywarp is in the shower, but he should be done soon." He strategically did not give Starscream an opportunity to reply, ushering him through the door and shutting it behind him.

“No wait, Thunder-” Starscream tried to cut in but the door had already closed. For a moment he contemplated leaving out of spite at the treatment, but the smell of food and his growling stomach stopped him. He had not eaten anything but breakfast all day. He sighed, accepting his fate, and made his way over to the couch.

His trinemates's apartment was very spacey, due to their combined income. It had two bedrooms, one for each of them, a guest room Starscream occupied more often than he cared to admit, two bathrooms, a kitchen that included a space for eating and the living room. The heart of the latter was the huge corner couch that was always covered in fluffy blankets and soft pillows.

Starscream huffed. His one bedroom apartment upstairs was only half of their living room, but because of his job situation he had had to downgrade. Trying to shake the dark thoughts again, he climbed onto the couch and curled up in one of the blankets, ready to pass out until TC called him for dinner.

He never got that far, as Skywarp burst into the living room, wrapped in nothing but a towel, his usually poofy hair wet and matted to his head, revealing its surprising length. “Hey TC! I didn't get to show you what came in the mail today ye-” He cut himself off as he spotted Starscream on the couch and grinned at him. “Oh, hey Star!” Starscream felt himself blushing at Skywarp's state of almost-undress and tried his best to meet his eyes. “Primus Skywarp, put on some clothes!” He told the prankster and was very proud of himself for not stuttering.

Skywarp snickered at him. “Why? Is prude little Starscream bothered by nudity?” He teased, but had the decency to turn around and walk back to his room to change. “It has nothing to do with being prude! What you're doing is just-” Skywarp suddenly turned his head, made eye contact with him and dropped the towel. Starscream spluttered and Skywarp laughed loudly as he entered his room and shut the door. He reappeared fully dressed, less than a minute later. Sometimes, Starscream could swear that guy could teleport or something. He moved insanely fast.

Skywarp flopped onto the couch next to a sulking Starscream, threw his arm over his shoulders and pulled him close in a sideway-hug, blanket still wrapped around him. Starscream tried to struggle and complain, but being as tired as he was, he could not deter Skywarp who started bombarding him with questions as if nothing had happened. “So why are you here? Did you come to snatch some more food from us? Where is TC? Did he let you in? You have the deepest, darkest circles under your eyes, are you sleeping enough?”

Starscream tried to answer, but in his sleep-deprived state, only a slow, quiet whine escaped him as he pitifully tried to wriggle out of Skywarp's semi-chokehold. Thundercracker chose that moment to enter the apartment again, only to laugh at the scene before him. “Come on Sky, he's obviously ready to fall asleep at any time, don't be mean.” He said not without affection and strode over to gently remove Skywarp's arm from around Starscream's shoulders, making the latter collapse against the couch.

Skywarp regarded Starscream, for a moment, took in the lack of his usual “I could have handled that myself, TC!” and seemed to suddenly come to a realization. “Oh Primus...” He muttered, exasperated before turning to TC, who was standing behind the couch and leaning onto the back of it. “Why did you invite him in if he clearly needs to sleep?” He asked incredulously. Thundercracker was supposed to be the responsible one!

TC just shrugged and turned to look at Starscream, who struggled to keep his eyes open and let out a weak “Don't talk about me like I'm... not right here.” “Because I know what he looks like, how he carries himself when he hasn't eaten all day.” He put a hand into Starscream's short, dark hair, not quite ruffling it, but getting it out of order none the less, visibly irritating the smaller Seeker even more. “You'll eat here, I'm not letting you sleep like this.” He pulled his hand away and made a slight face. “You'll also have to take a bath, when was the last time you washed your hair?” “None of your business,” Starscream growled at him and TC held his stare, unaffected. Skywarp followed their exchange with great interest.

“I was going to suggest you take a nap while I finish dinner, but not if you're being like this.” TC said flatly, hands on his hips. Starscream could feel himself getting more than a little worried. Had he just blown his chance to get an actual meal today? His stomach was about to reluctantly make him apologize, but TC had turned to Skywarp. “Bathe him. I'll finish dinner.”

Skywarp's grin threatened to split his face and before Starscream could so much as screech, he had flung him and the blanket he was wrapped up in over his shoulder and again, as if he had teleported, had somehow gotten Starscream to their bathroom within seconds. Not that the surprise stopped the screeching for long.


	2. cleaning up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Starscream takes a shower.  
> 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bois, what can I say, my original plan was to have a quick bathroom scene at the beginning of the chapter,  
> feed Starscream and then have them cuddle on the couch.  
> But now this happened, so couch cuddles will hopefully happen in the next chapter instead.  
> Starscream is even naked in this chapter and still nothing sexual happened????  
> I'm as done with my shit as the next guy tbh.
> 
> Hope you enjoy, there is even some angst in this one!
> 
> Still not beta'd, if there are any glaring issues, just let me know and I'll fix them.
> 
> (Also I'll say it again bc I don't want to confuse anyone: I picture them as very feminine looking, but they use he/him pronouns.)
> 
> ((Edit: they look like jnwiedle's seekers idk why I'm making such a big deal out of it asdfghjkl))

“Unhand me! Skywarp, you will put me down _this instant_! I won't let you bathe me, let go!

Skywarp set him down in the bathroom and Starscream wasted no time getting some distance between them, scrambling further into the room, since Skywarp stood between him and the door. He did not care about how tired he was, being bathed was too humiliating, too patronizing, too shameful, too _weak_. That Skywarp would use his strength to force it onto him hurt him in ways he could not name, but it made him shiver.

“Star, come on, TC was _joking_ , I won't actually bathe you,” Skywarp laughed, but stopped when he noticed how Starscream held himself, how he was cowering and glaring at him with hurt and distrust evident in his eyes. It took him a moment to realize what had caused this and when he did, a wave of guilt hit him. “Starscream,” he said, voice soft and inviting, making the smaller Seeker meet his eyes. “I- TC and I, we wouldn't force you to do anything you don't want to do. You know that... right?”

Starscream turned his head away from him, eyes downcast. “I... I suppose...” His voice sounded small, fragile. He would not cry. He _could_ not cry. Why was he being like this? Everything was fine just moments ago, wasn't it?

“Star?”

His eyes snapped up to meet Skywarp's once again, who looked incredibly worried. “Are you oka-,” he interrupted himself, frustrated. “What can I do to help?” Starscream shook his head no. “N-Nothing! I'm fine!” Skywarp looked as unconvinced as he felt. “Okay then... can I try giving you a hug?” and somehow, that was enough to snap Starscream out of it as he looked at Skywarp, bewildered.

“A _what_?” he spat out and Skywarp's grin returned. _There's my special guy._

“Come on, bring it in!” “Wha-? NO!!” but Skywarp was quicker, wrapping him in a careful hug, since Starscream did not like being squished too much, and if he struggled less than usual and even allowed himself to linger for a moment and enjoy the warmth, it was strictly because he was very tired.

Skywarp pulled away after a short while, grinning and since he did not have the same restraint Thundercracker had, he ruffled Starscream's hair, earning him an irritated whine and his grin turned affectionate. “Love you, Star.” Starscream blushed deeply at that statement. Skywarp had always been affectionate, but it still caught him off-guard. He was not used to affection at all, physical or verbal, not even from his trinemates and his own emotional response tended to overwhelm him a little. He avoided Skywarp's gaze again, who missed this as he pulled his hand away and made the same face Thundercracker had made just minutes before him. “You really should take a shower or something, though,” he said with mild disgust. “Your hair feels a little tacky.”

Starscream rolled his eyes. “It's called 'hairspray', Skywarp. It helps your hair stay in place.” “Oh, ha-ha, Star. Pretty sure you're supposed to wash that out at the end of the day,” before Starscream could cut in, he continued “Besides, how does being all nice and clean and warm sound right now?” he asked, smiling a sly smile at him, and Starscream knew he was going to lose this one.

“I don't have anything to change into afterwards, though.” It was a weak argument and they both knew it. “I'll just give you some of our clothes,” Skywarp said with a shrug.

Starscream actually liked wearing their clothes, even though neither of their clothes could possibly fit him. Skywarp was not only half a head taller than him, but also broad and bulky. He always had been, and ever since he had joined the military and therefore had started working out on a regular basis, he had gotten even buffer. Thundercracker, while more slender in build, closer to Starscream's petite form, was a full head taller than Starscream, meaning all his limbs were impossibly long compared to his. Their clothes did not fit him in very different ways but he liked both, how cozy he felt with the too-long sleeves of Thundercracker's sweaters and cardigans and how warm and protected he felt in Skywarp's... everything, really. It was comforting. They could never know that, though.

“Fine. I'll be with you two in ten minutes.” he said flatly after only a moment of hesitation.

But Skywarp did not leave the room. “No can do, Star, sorry.” he said, his smile back on his face and Starscream just stared at him for a moment, before his face shifted to one of suspicion. “Your pranks are usually better than this,” he said, pushing down any of the emotions that threatened to return. “It's not a prank!” he insisted, his hands coming up to do a little 'calm down' motion. “Look, my buddy Rock 'n Roll passed out in the shower after a mission the other day and it was not pretty. I won't look or creep on you or anything, I just want to stay in the room and talk to you, make sure you're okay?” he had not intended for it to turn into a question but it happened none the less.  
Starscream somehow sighed and grumbled at the same time before quietly saying “Fine.” to the floor.

__

Starscream had undressed while making sure that Skywarp was not peeking, before stepping into the shower and turning on the water. Normally, he turned the water on before stepping in, but he thought the cold water might help some with his fatigue. It did not. Now he was tired and cold.

“So, Star...” Skywarp started as he thought about whose shampoo he was going to steal from today. “Do you want to tell me about your day?” Deciding on TC's anti-frizz shampoo, he sighed “It was... bad,” he said truthfully and Skywarp hummed to indicate he had heard. Starscream thought about the humiliation he had faced at today's meeting and shuddered. “I... I don't want to talk about it. You tell me about your day,” he demanded. Skywarp laughed. “Okay, sure thing. Just grunt sometimes so I know you're still there.”

Skywarp told him about his work day, the shenanigans in the break room, how bad the coffee from the machine in there was and his plans to break it in a prank so their boss would get them a new one. Starscream hummed here and there and even offered an idea for the planned prank as he finished up his shower and turned off the water.

“I'm coming out so don't look.” he told Skywarp and after hearing another hum from him, he pulled the curtain aside, only to step right into a towel, which Skywarp was holding out for him . “SKYWARP, I SAID-” “I'm not looking!!! I'm helping!!” Skywarp sounded almost offended, as he blindly wrapped Starscream in the towel, before opening his eyes. “There! Without looking!” he declared proudly and dropped another, smaller towel on top of Starscream's head.

“I'll get you some clothes, be right back!” he told him before disappearing through the door. Starscream sighed, wrapping himself properly in the bigger towel and stepped over to the basin to look into the mirror hanging over it. As he started toweling his hair, he looked at himself and realized that his mascara was streaking down his face from the shower. It looked like he had been crying. Irritated, he rubbed at it, only to smear it further. He was about to try again with some toilet paper when Skywarp came back in, clothes in hand.

“Sorry I took so long, TC asked me to set the table real quick.” As Starscream was trying to wrap his head around Skywarp setting the table and getting him clothes in such a short amount of time, Skywarp looked at his face and what he was doing. “Wait, the toilet paper will fall apart. Trust me, I tried,” he chuckled, shoving the clothes into Starscream's arms and opening one of their cabinets to retrieve a box of fancy-looking make-up wipes.

“TC says these are the best, so we don't have anything else.” he explained before taking one. He put the box back before approaching Starscream. He reached up with his free hand and gently pushed up his chin to make Starscream look up at him. Starscream was completely caught off guard and his breath caught at the sudden proximity as he helplessly stared into Skywarp's eyes, who was oblivious to the effect he was having on Starscream. “Close your eyes.” he murmured and Starscream obeyed.

Skywarp gently wiped away the streaks of black and the residue of red eye shadow that had somehow made it through the shower and Starscream had trouble suppressing his shivering, clutching the clothes in his arms to himself. _Having someone wipe off your smeared eye-makeup has no business feeling this intimate!_ He thought, angry at himself as he felt Skywarp's breath on his face.

“There you go! Now you're really all clean.”, Skywarp announced proudly and took a step back to admire his work, hands on his hips. Nodding to himself, he discarded the used make-up wipe and turned back to Starscream, who was still blushing. Skywarp noticed this time, but mentally shrugged it off since Starscream had just gotten out of the shower. “Be careful with the sweater, TC really likes it because it's so soft.” he said as he remembered the clothes he had brought. “I think you can dress yourself, you know where to find us when you're done. Dinner's about ready so no preening in front of the mirror!” he giggled at his own comment as he turned to leave.

“Skywarp?”

He stopped and turned around, smiling. “Yes, Star?”

_'Thank you.' Just say it!_

“I don't want any sides touching my main dish.”

If Skywarp deflated a little it did not show in his smile. “I know, Star. And so does TC by the way.” With that, he stepped out of the bathroom and added “So hurry up and join us!” before closing the door behind him.


	3. going back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Starscream gets drunk but TC and Skywarp would not be very good trinemates if they did not take care of that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The G.I. Joe references kind of turned this into a crossover.  
> Also this will be longer than I thought hhhhh.
> 
> I'm so happy about any feedback tbh,  
> this is so self-indulgent I wasn't even sure who else would enjoy this.
> 
> So thank you for reading and I hope you like this chapter!

Starscream left the bathroom in Skywarp's purple sweat pants (that he could pull almost up to his chest if he tried), a soft, light blue sweater from Thundercracker (the sleeves of which covered his hands completely) and a fluffy pair of socks he did not know the owner of, since they were pink (though he guessed they might be Skywarp's).

The sight greeting him in the kitchen was Thundercracker, smiling while stirring in a pan, with Skywarp hugging him from behind, head on his shoulder and rambling to him about his day. He felt a pang in his gut region he could not place, not even if it was pleasant or not. But he was not really given time to reflect on it, as they noticed him standing in the doorway and Skywarp wasted no time to wave him over.

„Star! You did hurry up!“ he exclaimed as Thundercracker smiled at him softly. Making his way through the kitchen, Starscream blushed once again, avoiding their eyes. „Can't leave you two alone for too long.“ he murmured, before trying to peek past Thundercracker and at the contents of the pan. It was some sort of pasta-dish. As he tried to decide what kind, Skywarp grabbed him by the shoulder and pulled him between them, smushing him a little between his front and Thundercracker's back in a group-huddle he honestly should have seen coming. 

However, he did not have the energy to have a proper freak-out about it at the moment, so he accepted his fate and let the blush, that had never gone away to begin with, consume his whole face, as Skywarp wrapped him in his arms and cuddled them both closer to TC.

They stood like that in silence for what felt like an eternity, before TC turned slightly without dislodging the other two and looked down at Starscream to meet his eyes. “Would you like anything to drink? Sorry I didn't ask before, it completely slipped my mind.” he offered with an apologetic smile. Starscream thought about it for a moment. “What do you have?” TC turned back around to turn off the stove, before stepping away from the other two to open the fridge.

“We have water, several kinds of juices, that beer Sky likes, lemonade... oh, and I bought a red wine recently I've been meaning to try. How does that sound?” he asked, grinning at his trinemates, one of which still had the other wrapped in his arms. At that offer, Starscream smiled his first smile of the evening. “That sounds _really_ good actually,” he sighed and it sounded a little less exhausted than he had just moments before.

__

Skywarp and Thundercracker had an arrangement: TC did all of the chores at home, like cleaning, cooking and grocery-shopping, but Skywarp had to clean up after each meal, do the laundry and make sure the rent was paid on time.

So when TC volunteered after dinner to get some water into a drunk Starscream, Skywarp nodded, giggling, and told him he'd join them later. Starscream had emptied two glasses of wine during dinner, and being the light-weight he was, that meant he was pretty buzzed. He was a giggly, clingy drunk and both Skywarp and Thundercracker knew it. After he had started laughing uncontrollably when he accidentally knocked over his empty wine glass, TC had declared him too drunk for dessert and decided it was time to do some damage control. 

Starscream protested only mildly as TC picked him up bridal-style and carried him over to the couch. When he tried to set him down, he clung to TC's neck, forcing him to sit down with Starscream in his lap. “Y'know...” he slurred, trying to keep eye contact with him and failing miserably. “You might be a good cook. But it's because working from home gives you such an advantage. It's not fair!” “I'm not sure what you're getting at, Star.”, TC told him, his voice amused and only slightly tinged with exasperation. 

But Starscream was determined to make him understand. What exactly, he did not really know himself. “You're so good at everything! You can cook and you... you know what to buy and stuff. You made a cake that one time. And you have that wine-people meeting with that Melissa-woman, so now you're all cultured, too. Also, you're an author!”

“Her name is Marissa.” TC corrected him lightly. “You're babbling, Star. Why don't you let go of me, I'll get you some water and you can go to bed. You do have to go to work tomorrow.” He reminded him. Starscream's face switched from frustration, to horror, to sorrow. He buried his face in Thundercracker's soft chest and shook his head. “Primus, Thunder, I really don't want to go.” 

TC felt very helpless and incompetent at that moment. He carefully wrapped Starscream in a hug, tucking his head under his chin and started rocking him slightly. “That's okay.” he tried to soothe him and he wished he had more to say. Skywarp chose that moment to come out of the kitchen, a pitcher full of water in one hand, three glasses in his other.

“I didn't see you actually bringing any water for him so I... oh man,” he huffed, making his way around the couch and setting the glasses and the pitcher onto the coffee table in front of it. Thundercracker looked over at Skywarp helplessly, as Starscream wrapped his arms around his middle to be able to press his face into his chest more firmly, while squeezing his eyes shut and groaning. “Why won't the room stop spinning?” he asked no one in particular. His trinemates couldn't help but laugh at that and Thundercracker gently ruffled his now soft hair with a grin.

“Because TC didn't actually give you the water he promised you,” Skywarp chuckled while pouring each of them a glass. “Here, drink this and I'll get you some vitamins. You'll feel better soon.” After Starscream didn't take the glass from him, even after he nudged him with it, TC rolled his eyes at both of them, but mostly at Starscream, and took it instead. “What a lousy trinemate I am,” he joked as he carefully pried Starscream off of him and made him sit up a little straighter in his lap, handing him the glass. He took it this time and started drinking in little sips.

Thundercracker sighed in relief. “Can you get those vitamins real quick?” he asked Skywarp, who nodded and disappeared to their bathroom, where they kept all of their medication. He returned within seconds. “Here you go!”

It took surprisingly little convincing to get Starscream to take them, and after they got a second glass of water into him, he returned to clinging to Thundercracker. However, now he did not have the strength anymore to hold himself up enough to bury his face in his chest and so he found himself with his head in TC's lap, both arms wrapped around his waist to press his face into his stomach, and his legs across Skywarp's lap. They had covered him with a blanket at some point, too and so he was warm and cozy, laying between and across both of them.

He tried to listen to their conversation, to them talking about this and that, but he was too exhausted to actually grasp what they were saying. He eventually drifted off into a calm sleep, their scent and voices surrounding him.

__

He awoke to a soft knock on the door, and it took him a moment to take in his surroundings. He was in his trinemates' guest bedroom, the blinds half-open and after slowly recalling the night before, he was relieved to find that the light did not hurt his eyes any more than it did on any other morning. His throat felt very dry, and he was a little dizzy, but nothing he could not take care of before he had to leave to go to work. He shuddered and tried not to think about that, yet.

When he left the bed, he noticed the clothes he had come home in last evening, washed and pressed on the night-stand next to the bed. Skywarp really was quick when he wanted to be. He got dressed very slowly, not quite ready to get out of the clothes the others had lent him and also not ready to expose his skin to the slight chill of the room. Once dressed, he left their clothes folded neatly on the bed and made his way to the bathroom. 

It was locked when he tried the door, but before he could go to the other bathroom, it opened to reveal Skywarp, already dressed, toothbrush in mouth. “Good morning! Do come in,” he said around a mouthful of foam and Starscream laughed at him. “Good morning,” he replied, and grabbed the red spare toothbrush they kept for him down here.

They finished their morning routines together after Skywarp admitted to him that he had used his spare key to Starscream's apartment to get his cosmetics for him. Starscream decided he'd allow it – if only this once – and so he found himself applying red eye shadow next to Skywarp, who was putting on his signature sparkly purple one.

Skywarp finished a little before him and left the bathroom, babbling something about setting the table. When Starscream finished his routine, he left the bathroom and made his way through the living room towards the kitchen. 

“Ah, good morning!” Thundercracker greeted him as he entered, and motioned for him to take a seat at the kitchen table, where a cup of black coffee was already waiting for him. The three of them had very different coffee preferences. Starscream preferred his plain or, on some days, with lots of milk and foam, but never sugar. Skywarp on the other hand drank his so sweet that both of the others wondered how he managed to get so much sugar to dissolve in a single cup of liquid. Thundercracker did not much care for coffee and was instead very enthusiastic about tea. He had his own little collection stored away in one of the cupboards.

Skywarp was already sitting at the table, stirring spoon after spoon full of sugar into his coffee while trying to eat scrambled eggs and toast with a single hand at the same time. Starscream was about to ask Thundercracker about his own breakfast, when TC carried a pan over to him and carefully arranged a single egg (over-easy, yolk intact), two slices of buttered, pan-fried sourdough toast, some bacon and a fried tomato on his plate. “I thought you might need a big breakfast to avoid a hangover. Avocado slices and water are on the table and I'll get you some OJ in a minute.” he told him, putting the pan back onto the slowly cooling stove.

Thundercracker, always earlier to rise than the other two, had memorized how they liked their breakfast back in their college days and to this day nothing had changed. Starscream only ate one egg, as any more would often make him nauseous, over-easy (but only if the yolk was not broken) and sometimes poached. Skywarp preferred his scrambled with cream cheese, made with at least three eggs. TC also liked his scrambled, occasionally poached, and hardly ever ate more than two eggs.

TC returned to the table with his own helping of food and a jug of orange juice he poured each of them a glass from. They sat in silence for a while as they ate. Suddenly, Skywarp jumped up after having glanced at the clock. “Oh Primus no, I have to leave in five minutes! I haven't packed yet!” he downed his coffee in a single gulp, wincing slightly at the temperature and looked apologetically at Thundercracker. “TC, could you turn the rest of this into a sandwich or something? I swear I'll clean this up when I get home, but Scarlett will kill me if I'm late again.”

“Don't worry about it,” Thundercracker told him and got up to pack the rest of Skywarp's breakfast into a lunchbox. “I'll take care of it and you can get groceries for me on your way home. I'll text you the list.” “Thank you so much, TC. You're the best!” Skywarp pulled him into a quick hug and pecked his cheek before practically shooting from the room. “Careful, don't hurt yourself!” TC called after him.

“For someone so fast you'd think he wouldn't be late as much as he is.”, Starscream remarked between sips of coffee and Thundercracker sighed. “Sometimes I think he perceives time differently than we do or something.” Starscream glanced at the clock. “Doesn't he have twenty more minutes before he actually has to leave?” he asked, remembering that the two of them usually left the apartment around the same time. “Usually, yes. But he's on cleaning duty this week,” Thundercracker explained as he packed Skywarp's lunchbox with practiced ease.

Skywarp re-entered the kitchen three minutes later, a duffel bag over one shoulder, his purple army boots over the other. “Bye, guys!” he exclaimed, reaching his hand out to ruffle Starscream's hair, before thinking better of it and pulling him into a hug instead, which was only slightly awkward because Starscream was still sitting down. Skywarp noisily kissed Starscream's cheek and loudly talked over his protests “Be strong out there, my Star! I'll think of you today!” He then made his way over to TC, picked him up and spun him around before kissing his cheek as well. “I still didn't get to show you what came in the mail! I'll have to show you tonight,” he told him, his voice dropping at the end. Starscream blinked a little, unsure what this was about and Thundercracker laughed at Skywarp. “Get out of here before you're late again! I'll see you tonight.” Skywarp grinned at him, squeezing him one last time before waving at them both, grabbing his lunchbox and leaving the kitchen. They heard the apartment door opening and closing shortly afterwards.

Thundercracker sighed as he rejoined Starscream at the table to finish his breakfast. Starscream looked at the clock. He still had 15 minutes until he had to leave, which gave him some time to enjoy the calm Thundercracker radiated. He looked over at him and noticed something he had not noticed before. “So, Thunder, what are you doing today?” he finally asked him, looking at the blue shimmer on Thundercracker's eyelids and realizing his lips were a slightly different color than usual, too. “You're all dolled up.”

Thundercracker looked up at him and smiled. “So you did notice! Sky didn't say anything...” he thought for a moment. “He was probably too stressed,” he decided. “Probably,” Starscream agreed. “I'm meeting Marissa this morning. We're going over my latest script one more time and are having coffee afterwards.” “Marissa... isn't she the lady you go to those wine-meetings with?” Starscream asked, unsure. What would that woman know about writing?

“Yeah, but she is also my editor. That's how I became friends with her in the first place,” Thundercracker supplied. “Which reminds me...” he said, glancing at the clock. “Would you like me to drive you to work? It's close to where I'm supposed to meet Marissa, so it'd be no trouble at all.”

Starscream found that in the morning, after being well-rested and fed, it was so much easier to accept his trinemates' help and affection. It was almost like how they used to be back in college, before they had drifted apart, or rather, before he had drifted apart from them. Not that they let him drift all that far, but occasionally, like last night, he found it so hard to return their kindness or thank them for the things they did for him, even though it should not be hard at all. They had known him for so long, they had seen him in worse states. Or at least so he thought.

So when Thundercracker offered to drive him to work, he gladly accepted, since he was not too keen on using public transport in the morning and because it gave him more time to spend with his calmer trinemate before another day in his personal hell. He quickly finished his breakfast while TC packed a few more things for his day and the two of them left the apartment together, making their way to TC's car. 

Starscream used to own a car, too, but with the decreasing money his company made, a car was one of the luxuries he had to give up on. Thundercracker's good mood was contagious however, and so he did not really have time to reflect on that as he got into the passenger's seat. “So, tell me about your new screenplay. Is it any good?” he asked Thundercracker, who immediately answered. “Yeah, Starscream. I think it is. It's about alien robots but really, it's about everyone. I think you might like it.” he told him, pride evident in his voice. Starscream decided not to make fun of him for it. Out loud. Maybe because he was a little impressed with the passion TC could have for the weirdest things. He didn't need to know that, though. He could tell him something else, however. “You do look really pretty today, Thunder.” he told him with a genuine smile and Thundercracker almost flooded the engine. “Th-thank you, Starscream.” he stuttered out, more than a little surprised, but smiled back none the less.

Starscream's good mood quickly evaporated the closer they got to the building he worked in, and TC noticed immediately. “Hey, Star, Skywarp and I talked last night after you fell asleep. You get more and more tired with each day you work there.” Starscream looked over at him, almost glaring, but Thundercracker kept his eyes on the road. “I know you don't want to hear this, but we're worried about you. You don't eat enough, I haven't seen you well-rested in months. You always get home after shops have already closed, so you don't even have a chance to get food.” “Thundercracker. Drop it. I'm fine.” he tried to demand, but his voice shook. “No, Star, you need to hear this. This isn't healthy for you, and I don't even want to know what... what He asks of you, how he treats you-” “STOP IT!” Starscream took a deep breath, trying to compose himself. It worked somewhat, and he continued, a little calmer. “Stop it. Please. I know you mean well, but this is none of your business. I'm okay, Thunder. I promise.” 

Thundercracker did not look convinced at all. They pulled up in front of the building, and Starscream forced himself to smile. “I'll see you later.” he offered, before reaching to open the door. Suddenly, TC grabbed his wrist, forcing him to stay and Starscream turned back to him, a mixture of surprise and anger in his eyes. “Wait.” TC told him, and let him go to reach into his bag, pulling out a lunchbox. He handed it to Starscream. “It's nothing much, just some sandwiches. Something filling you can eat quickly.” He looked Starscream in the eyes and he found himself unable to look away. “Please don't skip lunch again.” 

There was more in that request. _Please be safe. Please don't do anything stupid. Please be careful._

Starscream nodded. “Thank you.” he heard himself say and was almost shocked at how sincere it sounded and _felt_.

Thundercracker pulled him into a hug and Starscream found himself hugging his trinemate back. As they parted, Thundercracker pressed a tender kiss to his forehead and Starscream could feel the blush from last night coming back with full force.

As he left the car, Thundercracker called after him. 

“Starscream?”

“Yes, Thundercracker?”

“Don't be a stranger. Come back down for dinner tonight.”

“I'll see.”

“Starscream, I will physically make you.”

That startled a laugh out of him. “Okay, okay.” he allowed, grinning at Thundercracker and closing the door of the car. He told himself that his look as TC drove off was not filled with longing.


	4. getting started: part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Flashback: A Trine is formed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is and the next chapter will be the hinted-at college backstory.  
> I'm not too happy with this one but I know the next one will get better.
> 
> Also I'm European, so I've never had the Authentic American College Experience.  
> But I asked my friend to tell me about it, so I hope this isn't too far fetched.
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
> still not beta'd so I'm sorry about all the mistakes hhhh  
> also I swear I'm going somewhere with this

"Oh wow!", a warm, deep voice sounded behind him, and Thundercracker turned around from where had been putting a little dog plushy on a shelf above his bed to meet the gaze of who had to be his new roommate. The person standing in the door was tall, though not as tall as him, his eyes a brilliant crimson, hair poofy and messy, tamed with a light purple plastic hairband. He was also buff and more than a little curvy, Thundercracker could not help but notice, since he wore a _very_ low-cut jersey, revealing a lot of his chest as well as toned arms. He was pretty, he decided, as he climbed off the bed to introduce himself.

"Hi," he said to the stranger, putting his hand out for him to take "I'm Thundercracker. I think we'll be roommates for this semester?" The other person did not take his hand and stared at his face instead, before suddenly exclaiming "You're stunningly beautiful! Has anyone ever told you that? They must have!" he then clasped his hand in both of his hands "I'm Skywarp! I can't wait to get to know you better." he said that with the most cartoonish wink TC had ever seen.

Pulling his hand back, blushing slightly, TC stammered. "Uhm... thanks? Skywarp, right?" Skywarp nodded enthusiastically. "It's nice to meet you." Thundercracker told him and the smile Skywarp gave him was contagious.

__

Skywarp was weird. So weird, but also ridiculously endearing and Thundercracker very quickly found himself enjoying his new roommate's company. He told Thundercracker about his interest in quantum mechanics in the same sentence in which he forgot the name of the high school he attended. He was also easily distracted, asking TC about most of his personal items, obviously trying not to interrupt TC to ask about the next one, while also trying to parrot the things TC told him back to him. "I want you to know I'm listening!" he exclaimed when asked about it. He seemed so genuinely interested in Thundercracker, who found it incredibly refreshing. Within the first week of college, the two of them became inseparable.

__

“Thundercracker?” TC put down the book he was reading to smile down from at his roommate, who was sitting on the floor, leaning against his legs while idly doodling on a pad. “What's up, Skywarp?” Skywarp turned around to lean his forehead again TC's knees. “I'm hungry and bored and I'll take a walk across campus to get a snack.” he almost whined but not quite. “And... you want me to come along?” TC guessed, sitting up a little. Skywarp nodded and looked up at him with big eyes, pouting a little. Thundercracker giggled. “No need for the puppy eyes, Warp, I'm coming!”

They walked down the hallway towards the exit of their dorm, easily falling into step with each other, when they heard a commotion coming from around a corner. TC turned to Skywarp to look at him questioningly, but Skywarp had already grabbed his hand. "I think I hear Sunstreaker. I hate that guy." he murmured, loud enough for TC to hear as they turned around the corner the commotion was coming from.

 

__

 

Starscream had no idea how this whole thing had been taken outside of his room. The lambo-twins, as they called themselves, had knocked on his door, to 'talk to him'. Next thing he knew, they had dragged him out of his room and tried to make him get rid of his experiments. He was seething.

"I don't care about your- about your nerd stuff! I don't want any of those chemicals near my room! What if they explode, like Wheeljack's do all the time?!" Sunstreaker yelled, cornering him, and due to the sheer size of the guy, he had no choice but to back away. Due to his size and the fact that Sideswipe was blocking his escape. "Oh please," he snarled, crossing his arms "if you are a capable scientist and not a complete idiot, your experiments don- ack!"

Sideswipe had sidestepped his brother and grabbed Starscream by the collar, lifting him up. Behind him, Sunstreaker grinned. "What did you just say about Wheeljack?" Sideswipe asked, his voice dangerously calm. But Starscream would not back down that easily. "Having trouble with your ears? Did that incompetent fool damage your ear drums last time he blew up th-" Sideswipe pulled his hand back to strike and Starscream interrupted himself and squeezed his eyes shut, preparing for the blow.

But it never came.

"What's the problem here? Picking on someone your own size too fair of a fight for you?", he heard an unfamiliar, deep voice say and he opened his eyes. Two figures had stepped in, one dressed in a purple jersey, one in blue shorts and a black top. The purple one held Sideswipe's fist in his, eyes ablaze with contempt, the other had physically put himself between Sunstreaker and Starscream. The blue one spoke up, and Starscream recognized his voice as the one who had spoken before. "What is it, Sideways? Put him down, let's see if we can talk this out." "And make it quick.", Purple growled, his eyes flashing dangerously at the red-clad twin.

Sideswipe glared, putting Starscream down, but not letting him go. "It's Sideswipe. And bastards like him can't be talked to." he spat in Blue's direction, and Sunstreaker nodded before getting into his face. "Yeah. And why don't you mind your own business?"

Blue seemed rattled for a moment, but shrugged within seconds. "Alright. Suit yourself. It was worth a shot." He ignored Sunstreaker to turn to his friend. "Do your thing, Skywarp." Purple (or Skywarp, apparently) grinned menacingly. "Sure thing, Thundercracker." With a quick, unnervingly fluid motion, he grabbed the red twin, who let go of Starscream in shock and _threw him across the hall_ before Sideswipe could even register what was happening. Luckily, muscle memory served him well, as he at least managed to do a roll instead of hitting the floor at full force. Sunstreaker could only gape at what was happening. He turned back to the other three, eyes blazing. "This isn't over." He forced out, before running to his twin, helping him up quickly and leaving. "What was THAT!" they heard Sideswipe demand from down the hall.

Starscream's hand shot up to his neck, where his collar had cut into his skin to see how bad the damage was. Thundercracker turned around to him while Skywarp continued to glare after the twins. "Are you okay? Should I have a look at that?" he asked, worry clear in his voice.

Starscream looked up at his saviors and could not help but stare a little. Thundercracker was tall, at least a whole head taller than Starscream himself, with long, dark hair that reached past his shoulders in a sleek cascade. He was slim, but not without curves and his eyes were the colour of ripe cherries. Both of them were remarkably attractive, Starscream admitted to himself as he flushed a little at the sight of how low-cut Skywarp's jersey was, exactly. He swallowed. What did these two want from him?

“Hey, uhm, _is_ it okay if I check your neck?” Thundercracker asked him again, startling Starscream out of his staring. “No, I'm fine!”, he quickly exclaimed, shielding his neck from Thundercracker's worried eyes with his hands. “Okay, okay! Calm down, I won't touch you. See?” he assured Starscream, holding his palms up. “What did those two want from you, anyway?” Skywarp chimed in. “Oh, who knows. Apparently their room is right across the hall and when they saw me carrying chemicals they got all whiny about it, how dangerous it is. Pathetic! Which reminds me...” he eyed the two of them suspiciously. “What was that all about?! Why did you help me? What do you want from me?” he demanded, and Thundercracker took a step back, flabbergasted.

“Uhm. Nothing? We just heard a commotion and wanted to help. Right, Skywarp?” he turned to his friend, who had stopped glaring after the twins to follow the conversation. “Yeah, I kinda hoped we could find an excuse to rough up Sunstreaker a little. But that didn't happen.” he said, something akin to regret on his face. “I think throwing his twin counts as roughing someone up.” Thundercracker said with a sly smile on his face and Skywarp positively _beamed_ at him.

Starscream squinted at them suspiciously. “And I'm supposed to believe that? That you two are just walking around campus, saving random people you don't know from bullies. Such pure souls! I'm not buying it. What. Do. You. Want?” he hissed at them, aggressively, and Thundercracker lost his patience.

“Look, Shorty. I don't know what you think this is, but a simple “thank you” would have been enough.” Starscream bristled. “What did you just call me?!” Thundercracker rolled his eyes, turning around and dragging Skywarp with him. “I don't have time for this. Come on, Warp, we're leaving.”

“Hey! Come back here! DON'T TURN YOUR BACK ON ME!”

But the two of them disappeared as quickly as they had arrived. Starscream stood in front of his dorm, stunned. They really had not demanded anything from him, even got offended at the idea. He returned to his room and locked himself in it, Sunstreaker's threat still in his ears. There he sat and thought about his situation. If he knew the twins, they'd be back before the evening was over and when they arrived, he did not want to be present. Also, he did not like being indebted to anyone. Decision made, he gathered a few things before leaving his room in a swift stride, locking the door behind him.

__

Thundercracker and Skywarp sat on TC's bed, one of them trying to read, the other telling the first about a prank he was planning to pull on the twins that involved hiding all of Sunstreaker's signature golden metallic-pleather jackets or better yet, destroying them, when there was a knock on the door. Since Skywarp was the one leaning against TC, who was laying on his front, he got up to open the door.

Without waiting to be invited in, the little one from earlier, dressed in a short, red skirt and a see-through top strode past Skywarp into their room, immediately looking around with a slight sneer. “You live like this.” It was not a question. Thundercracker groaned, before standing up and purposefully standing a little too close to him, letting his height make its impression. “Why are you here, Shorty?” he asked the intruder dryly, crossing his arms and Skywarp, after closing their door, stood next to him, putting his arm on his shoulder and slightly leaning on him.

The crown of Shorty's head only reached up to Thundercracker's collar bone. He was very, very slender and petite in built and had short, dark hair. He also held himself with a grace that radiated arrogance, Thundercracker noticed as his gaze met garnet eyes for the second time that day. The rude little twerp was undeniably beautiful despite everything, or maybe because of everything. Thundercracker could not decide.

“The name is Starscream.” He hissed at a nonplussed Thundercracker. “And did you just forget what the golden boy of the brainless jocks said earlier?” he mocked, seemingly unimpressed by their united front display. “You mean the stuff about this not being over?” Skywarp asked and Thundercracker turned to him, surprised. He did not remember, but now that Skywarp mentioned it, he did remember hearing someone say it.

“Precisely. And, since you got me into this by stepping in, you have to stay with me through all of it until the very end. So I will come to your room to do my work from now on.” Starscream explained with a melodramatic patience in his voice that was clearly meant to scorn. The two of them regarded him before meeting each others' eyes. He was taken aback as grins simultaneously appeared on their faces. They looked back down at him. “So what you're asking of us,” Thundercracker said calmly “- is to hang out with you?”

Starscream spluttered “W-What?! No! I'm clearly asking you to keep those two idiots in check so I can do my work!” “Oh, sure.” Skywarp snorted. “By letting you come to our room at any time? I'd say it counts as hanging out.” He then surprised both of the others by grabbing Starscream by the shoulder and hugging him to himself, effectively pressing his face to his chest in the process. “You're lucky you're so cute, Screamer! I wouldn't tolerate anyone else talking to TC like that.”

Starscream spluttered, struggled and screeched, trying to dislodge Skywarp's grip, but to no avail, until Skywarp took pity on him and released him with a huge grin. Thundercracker laughed the whole time it was happening, barely able to compose himself. Starscream stared at Skywarp in complete outrage, his breath labored and his face almost the same color as his eyes.

Skywarp and Thundercracker both looked at him with smiles plastered across their faces. “I like him.” Skywarp told Thundercracker and Starscream felt even more blood rushing to his face. “Can we keep him, TC?” “Oh, I don't know, he's awfully loud and rude. But that's even more reasons why he might need a bodyguard or two.” Thundercracker said as he pretended to think about it.

Starscream managed to compose himself enough for a reply. “Fine, I don't care what you call it. Just keep them off of me so I can work.” “Alright, Starscream.” Thundercracker allowed. “But it will cost you. Skywarp eats a lot of snacks and I _will_ let you know when I need a favor.”

“Fine. Let's call it a deal.”

__

Later that night, Thundercracker tucked a sleeping Starscream into his bed before crossing the room to share Skywarp's. “Soundwave texted me earlier. Apparently the twins really are out to get him tonight. I think it might be for the best if he stays here for a couple of days. Who knows – maybe we can even teach him how to treat people.” he told Skywarp, who nodded.

“Plus, he's adorable.” Skywarp stage-whispered. ”To be honest, if he hadn't had that going for him, I'd have thrown him back out when he asked us to do stuff for him. We don't even know him.” “Yeah, he is weird.” Thundercracker agreed. “I think he just doesn't have any friends who would help him out so to him, this probably seemed like the best course of action.”

Skywarp grinned at him, covering them both with his blanket. “I think we might be able to change him not having any friends.” Thundercracker managed to keep himself from rolling his eyes. “Let's see if I want to, Warp.”

Skywarp just giggled.

 


	5. getting started: part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Flashback: Trials and Tribulations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last (full) college backstory chapter (hopefully).
> 
> I'll have to go on a bit of a hiatus after this one,  
> only for a few weeks, so I tried to make this extra sweet.
> 
> I now have the story fully planned out so there is actual plot to come soon!
> 
> I hope you still enjoy, thank you so much for your feedback,  
> your comments and kudos really keep me going.
> 
> Have fun with this one!

Thundercracker was angrily walking back to his dorm. Four weeks. It had taken him exactly a month before he was ready to kill Starscream, and he almost wanted to pat himself on the back for taking that long. Since Sideswipe and Sunstreaker still tried to catch him alone, sometimes even at night, he had stayed with them for most of the last month, even sleeping in their room. The smallest of them was the worst roommate he had ever had to put up with. He was constantly in a bad mood, hissing and throwing insults at him and Skywarp, depending on who was closest to him at that moment. His clothes were strewn across their entire room and honestly? That, Thundercracker could deal with. With the mood swings, too, to some degree.

But Starscream constantly left test tubes, chemicals and various other potentially dangerous items lying around. Granted, none of them ever exploded, but the carelessness with which they seemed to be strewn around made Thundercracker uneasy. Skywarp was too curious of a person to have these kinds of things just lying around in the open, easy to take!

The other day he had found a hole in their carpet that looked like it had been dissolved by some kind of corrosive fluid. When he confronted Starscream about it, he had waved him off and a fight had broken out that ended with Starscream stomping from the room, only to return minutes later, out of breath and slamming the door behind him. From outside, Sideswipe and Sunstreaker's voices could be heard and TC decided to let him stay, even though he was still mad at him.

The next day, several snacks and drinks appeared in their room, and Skywarp swore he had nothing to do with it. Thundercracker frowned. Starscream could on the very rare occasion be sweet. In a way. He clearly did not know how to thank anyone, so he resorted to gifts, though he never openly admitted to being the one to get them, even though it was very obvious. So random things just appeared in their room when they were not there. From various foods and drinks to sparkly stickers to the most obscenely cute stationary TC had ever seen in his life. “He's like a thieving magpie!” Skywarp once snickered at a collection of various, colorful paperclips Starscream had left on his desk and Thundercracker could not help but agree.

A slow smile formed on his face. He had grown weirdly fond of the little seeker of shiny things, he could not lie to himself. But still, fondness did not mean he would put up with his misbehavior any longer. Which was why he had pulled some strings and got their neighbor and his friend, Soundwave, to agree to trading his room next to theirs with Starscream's old room across from the twins.

Soundwave was very strange, speaking only when talked to and in a very weird, monotone way. Thundercracker personally enjoyed his company, as he would occasionally meet him in the library and they would read together and sometimes discuss a book. But a lot of people were creeped out by Soundwave, the way he seemed to always know what was going on on campus and what people where thinking, and the twins were no exception. They would not bother him if he moved into Starscream's current, practically unoccupied room.

Arriving at their room, he took a deep breath to calm himself. He could do this. He would explain the situation to Starscream and before the day was over, he could walk through their room in socks again and, as much as he loved Skywarp, sleep in his own bed, without having to share a blanket.

He opened the door to find Skywarp lying on the floor, his head supported by his elbows with a book in front of him, and Starscream sitting next to him, cross-legged, talking while pointing at something in the book. They looked up as Thundercracker entered. “Hey, TC!” Skywarp exclaimed, starting to stand up to greet him, but Starscream put his hand on his back and pushed him back down.

“Oh no, you don't! We haven't even finished this chapter yet!” Skywarp groaned, shot TC an apologetic look and turned his attention back to the book.

Thundercracker ruffled his hair fondly as he passed him and sat on his former, soon to be his again bed. “Starscream, are you... helping Skywarp with his studying?” he asked, unsure. “Of course I am!” he told TC, turning to him from his position on the floor. “I know how whiny you get about his grades, so I thought I'd do you the favor. We _do_ have a deal, after all. Besides, no roommate of mine will have the abysmal chemistry grades Skywarp has.” At that, Skywarp shot him a hurt look, but Starscream did not notice.

“Yeah, about the whole roommate thing... listen, Starscream, we need to talk.”, he started as calmly as he could. Starscream narrowed his eyes at him. “If this is about that hole in the carpet again-” “It's not. But you're moving out before the day is over.” Before Thundercracker could elaborate, fear flashed across Starscream's face, but was quickly covered by anger. “What? No I'm not! Why are you being like this, Thundercracker, we had a deal!”, his voice cracked a little in slight panic at the end, but TC was already too exasperated to notice or care.

“The deal was that you could live here if you pulled your weight. Maybe I should have been more specific on the conditions, but I didn't expect I had to explain to anyone that you can't leave your clothes lying around on the floor, or that you should be nice to the people you live with-” “Or that you shouldn't steal your roommates' shampoo.” Skywarp threw in from the floor. “Exactly, or that you shouldn't leave dangerous chemicals lying around all over the room.” Starscream had stood up, and Thundercracker noticed that something was off, that this was not his usual stance when they had an argument. Usually he would cross his arms and regard TC with an air of indifference before delivering his comebacks. Right now, Starscream was shaking, fists clenched at his sides and he could swear he saw moisture in his eyes.

“So this is about the carpet!” he began, and Thundercracker shook his head, frustrated. “No! This is about me being unable to put up with you any longer!”

Starscream visibly recoiled and TC immediately regretted his words. “Starscream, wait-” “Whatever, Thundercacker!” he cried and now there were tears running down his face. “I don't need you! I don't need either of you!” Skywarp jumped to his feet “Wait, Star, TC didn't mean it like that!” but Starscream was already storming out of the room. The slam of the door resonated more than it should have.

TC still sat on the bed, shocked, and Skywarp turned to him. “You two are so smart. How are you so bad at communicating with each other?” “I don't know, Sky.” TC murmured, burying his face in his hands, angry at Starscream, but mostly at himself.

Skywarp sat next to him and flung an arm over his shoulder, pulling him against himself and TC leaned into it. “What was this whole thing about moving out, anyway? I know you're frustrated with the situation, and so am I, to be honest. But I didn't think we'd send him back to his old room?” he sounded sad and confused, and Thundercracker looked up at him, his face mirroring the emotions in Skywarp's voice.

“Primus, I didn't even get to explaining the plan to him, I got riled up so quickly.” he shook his head at himself. “Soundwave agreed to trading rooms with him, so he can live next to us, but doesn't have to work or sleep in here.”

Skywarp grinned. “That's awesome! I can't believe you got Sounders to do that.” “Yeah...” Thundercracker trailed off. “But who knows if he even still wants to live next to us. He never cried before when we fought.” He wrapped his arms around himself, feeling incredibly guilty. Skywarp wrapped him in his arms and nuzzled into his hair. “Come on, TC! We'll find him, talk it out with him. Show some initiative, he seems to like that. You two really have a way with pushing each other's buttons, maybe I could try to help more with that?” he sounded uncertain, but hopeful, and TC couldn't help but smile at him. “Yeah... yeah, okay, Sky. Let's give it a try.”

Skywarp beamed. “Alright! Let's go find him, then, I'm kind of worried.” Thundercracker flinched as he realized the implications of Starscream walking around campus on his own. “So am I. Let's go, Sky.”

They left their dorm together, shoulders brushing, as they made their way towards Starscream's old room, to start their search.

__  
  
  


Almost ninety minutes later, and they still had not found Starscream in any of his usual spots. He was not in his room, they had checked the library twice, walked across the whole campus to where Skywarp usually got his snacks, and had checked every corner store and shop that was within walking distance. Nothing.

Thundercracker was starting to get very, very worried and fidgety and Skywarp's endless optimism seemed to run out slowly. They were just outside of their dorm building, after deciding to see if he had returned to their room, when they heard yelling from behind the building. Looking at each other in alarm, they sprinted towards the source of the noise and what they saw once they rounded the corner had them both seeing red.

Three guys of one of the sports teams (TC could not remember which one and he did not care at that moment) had ganged up on a shorter figure, Starscream, TC realised, and had him pinned to the ground.

One, who TC knew as Cliffjumper, had one of his arms twisted behind his back with one hand, while the other pressed his face into the dirt. The other two sneered and laughed and through the sound, Thundercracker thought he could faintly make out Starscream's whimpers. Had he been rational at that moment, TC would have been glad that the other two were not the lambo twins but instead these two short guys, around Cliffjumper's height. But still taller than Starscream.

“Get off of him!” he heard Skywarp yell and at that moment, electricity seemed palpable in the air as they rushed to the group. Skywarp somehow managed to grab Cliffjumper and literally throw him at one of his teammates without stepping on Starscream, while Thundercracker used his momentum to ram his elbow into the third's nose. A horrible crack sounded, but it was drowned out by the guy's cry as he stumbled to the ground, clutching his face, blood dripping from between his fingers.

Thundercracker did not see if he stayed down as he dropped to his knees next to the downed seeker. “Starscream! Star, are you hurt? Can you hear me?”

Starscream's eyes seemed to search his face, before recognition flashed in them and fresh tears ran down his face. He was shaking and made no attempt to get up. Thundercracker's heart clenched painfully. Skywarp, who had kept the three attackers in check hissed, bringing Thundercracker's attention back to him. “Don't _ever_ touch my friend again. I know where your rooms are.” With that last sentence he grinned viciously, and the the other group seemed to wince. Cliffjumper gritted his teeth. “Fine!” he spat. “Gears, help Huffer up. We're outta here.” With that, they disappeared into the dark.

Skywarp knelt next to the other two. Thundercracker had gently put his hands on Starscream's back. Whose breathing was shakier at that moment, Skywarp could not tell. “Come one, let's get you out of here. Can you stand?” he asked Starscream, who tried to get his breathing under control, before forcing out “Y-yes, I'll be fine.”

Skywarp and Thundercracker exchanged a look as Starscream tried to stand up, only to collapse when he tried to put weight on his legs. They caught him, and Thundercracker got even more worried. “What happened, did they hurt you?” “No! N-No, they didn't, they just pushed me down. I don't know what is happening!” Starscream cried, sounding panicked.

Skywarp got his arms under his back and legs and gently lifted him. Starscream did not protest. “Let's get you somewhere safe.” He handed him to Thundercracker. “I'll watch your back in case anyone else shows up.” “Thank you so much, Sky.” TC breathed, and together, they made their way back to their room. If Starscream was consciously clinging to TC or not, he was not sure.

__  
  
Back in their room, TC put Starscream onto his bed. When he noticed the tears spilling silently from his eyes, he reached for a box of tissues on his night-stand, handing them to Starscream, who pushed the offered box away from him.

“I'm not crying!” He angrily wiped at his eyes with his sleeves.

Thundercracker felt very helpless, but Skywarp stepped in, sitting on the edge of the bed and gently pulled Starscream's hands away from his face. “It's okay to cry. I think the shock was a little much on you, you need it right now. So the chemicals causing the emotions can even out again.”

Starscream looked at him. “So you did listen during my lesson.” he smiled a little through the tears. Skywarp returned the smile. “Of course I did, if you're gonna take the time to explain brain chemicals stuff to me and all.” Thundercracker let out a breath he had not realized he was holding.

The three of them curled up together on Thundercracker's bed, with Starscream sandwiched between them. Thundercracker was gently combing his hands through Starscream's hair. “I'm sorry.” he told them, and Skywarp put a supporting hand on his arm. He took a breath before continuing. “I should not have gotten so frustrated, or this whole thing could have been avoided. I wasn't going to throw you out, Starscream.” He felt Starscream perk up under his hands, and continued. “I got Soundwave to trade rooms with you. He says he's ready to move whenever you are. That way, you can move in next to us. Experiment and work there. But you still are and always will be welcome here.”

Starscream never replied. Instead, he turned over and buried his face in Thundercracker's chest, hugging him. Thundercracker flinched, not having expected the movement, but hugged him back and quickly, Skywarp joined them as well, kissing Thundercracker's cheek and the crown of Starscream's head, leaving both of them blushing.

“We're a trine!” he exclaimed suddenly, grinning.

“A what?” Starscream asked, sounding perplexed.

“You know, a group of three.” Skywarp explained, still smiling brightly.

“Don't you mean a triad?” Thundercracker asked, sounding just as perplexed as Starscream.

“No. I mean a trine.”

 


	6. getting started: part 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Flashback: Sometimes, things can't be left unsaid.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhhh the hiatus was way longer than I though it would be and I'm so sorry.  
> I hope ppl are still interested.
> 
> More backstory in this but don't worry, we're slowly but steadily starting to get back to the main plot.  
> Until then, I hope you enjoy this one! I think it turned out p cute tbh.
> 
> Thank you so much for your patience.  
> Idk when the next chapter will come but it hopefully won't be two months this time.
> 
> Anyway, have fun with this one!
> 
> i stuck my arm deep into the fanfiction clichés for this one hhh let me know what you think

Absentmindedly, Thundercracker stirred in his tea, lost in memories. Driving Starscream to work meant that he was way too early to his meeting with Marissa, so he had sat down in their usual little café, at their usual table and allowed himself to remember while he waited for her.

  
__

 

The three of them had soon become a force to be reckoned with at their college. With the other two flanking him, Starscream strutted through the corridors like he owned the place, often challenging other students to fights. Once he had his separate space to work, the tension between them almost dissolved. They still fought occasionally, but it was more for show. Real issues were talked out and while these talks often resulted in a sulking Starscream, he got better at accepting TC's criticism after Skywarp told him that they were TC's way of worrying about him.

Starscream still helped Skywarp with his studies, while Skywarp helped Starscream with his worst subject: PE. Starscream went from denying that he might need some help with it to reluctantly listening to Skywarp's ideas for them to collaborate on. Then, after TC mentioned at some point that dancing is a sport, too, he seemed intrigued and asked (demanded) Thundercracker to show him and Skywarp how ballroom dancing worked. So several months of training with Skywarp and Thundercracker later, he started choreographing complex dance-routines for them.

Thundercracker would never forget the night before the day Starscream would show his PE professors what he had been working on, when both his trinemates woke him up with huge grins plastered across their faces only to drag him to the deserted gym, where they had lined the floor with mats. It was dark, with only the moon illuminating them through the window. TC sat on the grandstand. “What is this about?” he asked, rubbing his eyes and suppressing a yawn. The two lunatics grinned up at him. “Just watch.” Starscream told him, and the giddiness in his voice kept it from being one of his usual orders. Then, both he and Skywarp got into position, but not without Skywarp pressing a button on an old tape deck before they did.

Thundercracker could only stare in awe as they both easily fell into a dance routine that included Skywarp lifting Starscream several times and even throwing him once. Starscream easily used the velocity from the move to do two cartwheels before rolling into a handstand and gracefully landing on his feet. All of Starscream's movements were graceful, elegant and executed with a breathtaking speed, while Skywarp's movements felt more precise and grounded, but no less graceful. Their moves came together in what felt like a poem to TC, a visual symphony. As the music came to an end, Skywarp did one last spin with Starscream flourishing on his shoulder, before setting him down, both of them seamlessly moving into a bow to TC on the very last note.

Starscream was the first to look up again, a smug smile playing on his face as he met Thundercracker's eyes. Skywarp was quick to follow as he beamed up at Thundercracker with pride and joy clearly written on his face. “So what do you think?? Amazing, right?” When Thundercracker did not answer right away, trying to find the words to describe what he was feeling, Starscream interrupted any thought process he had. “What's the matter, Thunder? Starstruck?” His grin somehow got even wider. “Sky wasn't the limit, huh?” That startled a laugh out of TC. “Primus, stop it! Leave the puns to Skywarp, they do _not_ suit you.” Starscream disentangled himself from Skywarp with a shrug. “Come on, TC, I'm sure he didn't mean to steal my Thunder.” Skywarp stage-whispered and Thundercracker stiffled another laugh, which made Skywarp's eyes light up.

“So, what _did_ you think?” Starscream demanded impatiently and this time, there was a hint of uncertainty in his voice. Thundercracker smiled at him. “I think it's amazing!” he breathed. “The way you two work together, the way you move... your pacing is also incredible. I bet your audience tomorrow will love it!” At that, Skywarp and Starscream deflated just the slightest bit. “They'll hate it.” Starscream told him with a bitter smile. “It's me, so they'll hate it. You know Sky and I aren't exactly popular with most of the professors. They'll let me pass for sure, but my grade won't be good.” “Oh.” Thundercracker said smartly, not sure what to reply. “That's why we showed you first.” Starscream told him, his smile turning real again. “Yeah!” Skywarp exclaimed. “As long as you like it, we don't care what anyone else thinks!” Now, TC really was at a complete loss, his mind short-circuiting as the meaning of their words suddenly hit him. He got up and quickly made his way down from the grandstand to where they were standing, wrapping them both in his arms. “I love it. I think it's so good. I think you two are so good.” He whispered, and felt their arms tightening around him and each other.

“Thank you.” Skywarp replied as Starscream pressed himself closer to them both.  


__

 

TC did his best to keep both of them balanced by making sure none of their escapades escalated too far, while they helped him by standing up for him when he would not because he was too quiet to do so. Meanwhile, Skywarp balanced his trinemates' relationship by acting as a mediator whenever things got out of hand and well-meant advise threatened to turn into thoughtless insults.

Always being a group of three also meant people did not cross them anymore. After failing to catch Starscream alone after several months of trying, the twins just seemed to give up at some point. Skywarp, who used to have a tough time going to the library because he felt like the other students there made fun of him for even trying had no issues going anymore after both of them joined him whenever they could. Thundercracker had to stiffle a giggle when he remembered how he himself finally mustered up the courage to try karaoke because the other two basically bullied him into it.

Other escapades of theirs included makeovers orchestrated by Starscream himself because he was so unhappy with the way they did their hair and makeup and, as he insisted, absolutely not because he wanted their looks to match, Skywarp trying to teach every sport he knew how to play to them and Thundercracker teaching them how to cook their own meals and do their laundry. Once their freshman year was over, they had moved off campus into a shared apartment, which meant more space and a kitchen that TC could use to his heart's content.

And he remembered it vividly, the first time his heart skipped a beat when Skywarp nuzzled into his neck, and the first time his stomach felt like it was doing flip-flops when Starscream put his head into his lap while laying down on the couch. In retrospect, he was surprised he had not developed romantic feelings for them earlier, especially for Skywarp. The two of them had always acted like a couple now that he thought about it. Or maybe the feelings had always been there and he just had not allowed himself to realize.

One night, when Starscream was pulling an all-nighter in the lab to meet a deadline, TC was making cupcakes as a late-night snack to bring him before going to bed. Suddenly, Skywarp came bursting into the kitchen. “TC! You'll never guess wh- oh! Cupcakes!! Can I have one?” TC laughed and shook his head no. “No, Sky, I made them for Starscream. You know, because of his lab work? He'll need the extra sugar tonight.” Skywarp looked absolutely heartbroken. “Oh... I see.” he said sadly, slowly turning to leave again. Thundercracker's resolve caved almost immediately. He sighed. “Alright, Skywarp. But only one.” Skywarp tackled him in a hug that bordered on painful. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!! I love you so much, TC, you're the best!” And with that, he pressed several kisses to TC's face before nuzzling into his neck. TC blushed deeply and returned the hug, putting his head on Skywarp's shoulder and bracing himself for what he was about to say.

“I love you, too, Skywarp.”

It came out as a whisper, even though he had not intended for it to, and he felt Skywarp stiffen in his arms. Several moments passed between them, and when Skywarp finally pulled away, he could not find it in himself to meet his gaze, afraid he had somehow ruined what they had.

“TC, you... you never said it back before.” He laughed suddenly, a relieved laugh that made TC look at him. “Primus.” He combed his hand through his hair, looking up at TC from under his headband. “And I thought maybe I was doing something wrong.”

“Wait... what? What would you be doing wrong? I'm the one messing things up.” Thundercracker told him, desperation and slight panic creeping into his voice. “What? No, TC, you never mess anything up. I thought it was clear. That we love each other, I mean, and that we're just waiting for Starscream to make it official. That's why I always tell you two that I love you. I guess I didn't think it would take this long for either of you to say it back.”

TC struggled to comprehend what Skywarp was telling him. “I... you... wait, Starscream?” “Yeah. I mean, I like him and so do you, or at least so I thought?” TC found himself at a complete loss. He knew Skywarp was right, but having it put into words, just like that, left him stunned. “I... yeah, I do. Like him. And I like you. _Like_ like you.” Skywarp smiled at him. “You can say love, TC. You already did.” At that, Thundercracker found himself blushing harder. “I... _love_ you. And him. But I didn't think you felt the same way?” Now it was Skywarp's turn to be at a loss. “TC, we _live_ together. I kiss you good night, every night. I tell you I love you, to your face, sometimes more than once a day! We even sleep together!”

“I... I don't know! I always thought you meant it in a platonic way!” Thundercracker tried to defend himself. “It does sound obvious when you put it like that.” He put his face into his hands to do some damage control on how much he was blushing and his dignity, though he knew it did not help.

Skywarp wrapped him in his arms and, to his credit, did not laugh at him. Instead he sighed, relieved. “I'm glad I wasn't wrong about us this whole time.” TC returned the hug. “I'm not sure if it counts if one of us was unaware of it the whole time.” Skywarp giggled. “I think it absolutely counts.” Then, he pulled away and looked up at TC, almost shyly. “Hey... can I kiss you?” TC snorted. “You kiss me all the time.” “Yeah, but... it feels different now. So I wanted to ask.” It was the first time TC saw Skywarp blush, and he smiled. Instead of replying, he pressed his lips to Skywarp's, who responded eagerly, smiling into it. As they parted, Skywarp looked at him in awe, before his face shifted into an open smile. TC found himself smiling back and pressed another kiss to Skywarp's forehead.

After what seemed like a small eternity, TC suddenly asked “Wait, do we tell Starscream?” Skywarp looked at him, surprised. “What? No, he has to make it official. I don't want him to feel left out, which he would if we told him, but I also want him to realize on his own. Right?” Thundercracker looked at him, a little uncertain. “Shouldn't we... I don't know, put out? So he knows?” “Yeah, but I don't know if we should outright tell him. He might take it the wrong way. We might scare him off. That's why I tell him I love him, but I leave reacting to it up to him. He might feel smothered if I do more.” TC thought about it for a moment. “I guess that makes sense, in a way. Though I am very much against just assuming you're a couple without telling your partner.” Skywarp grinned sheepishly and shrugged. “That's not what it is with him, though.” Thundercracker shrugged, too. “I guess not.”

 

Later that night, TC and Skywarp took the whole batch of cupcakes and some fresh coffee to Starscream in the lab. When he greeted them at the door, he seemed very tired. “Hey Star!” Skywarp exclaimed, hugging Starscream with his free arm before squeezing past him into the lab. “Don't touch anything!” Starscream yelled after him, before turning to TC. “Why are you here?” He asked him, badly concealed annoyance in his voice. TC smiled at him, handing him the tray of cupcakes. “Because I love you and want to make sure you're okay.” He watched as a blush bloomed across Starscream's face as his eyes avoided him and he could not help but grin.

“I know about the no food in the lab rule, so come outside and have a snack with us?” He asked as if nothing had happened. Starscream thought about it a little longer than he usually would. “Okay, fine.” He allowed, and at that moment, Skywarp seemed to re-materialize out of nowhere, the tray of coffee cups still in hand. “Let's go then, I know a spot!” He announced.

For about an hour, they sat on a bench nearby the lab, Starscream with his head in TC's lap and his legs across Skywarp's, munching on a cupcake as he listened to the other two talking about whatever they deemed important enough to discuss and TC was sure he caught a glimpse of the little seeker smiling to himself.

For about an hour, the world seemed perfect.

 

__

 

The weight of a small dog jumping into his lap ripped TC from his memories. “Buster!!” He exclaimed, hugging the happy puppy to himself as she started licking his face. He laughed, scratching her ears. “There you are! I missed you.” He told her and she replied with a small “brfff” and wagged her tail. “Hey, TC!” He recognized Marissa's voice immediately and got up with Buster in his arms to greet her properly. “Hey Marissa! I'm glad to see you.” They hugged, careful not to squish Buster between them. “I'm glad to see you, too!”

She took a seat across from him, crossed her legs and smiled at him. “So,” she said, carefully arranging herself. “Tell me everything about that creepy boss of your trinemate and I'll see how hard we can sue him.”

Thundercracker grinned broadly.

 


	7. falling apart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Flashback: Success and Setbacks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Very last flashback, for real this time.
> 
> This took me sooo long to write, not only bc it's longer but bc I'm terrible at writing actual conflict.  
> I just want to write fluff all day but my film professor said no story without a conflict.  
> So here we are.
> 
> In this one we address that I accidentally made TC a perfect housewife.  
> We will not address that I accidentally made him the new pov character back in chapter 4.
> 
> There are hints of MegaStar in this but it won't be portrayed in a shippy way at all so I won't tag it.
> 
> I hope you'll enjoy more cute, wholesome trine fluff!  
> Let me know what you think, it means so so much to me. :')
> 
> also marissa and tc's friendship has me weak so i had to add it hhh

Marissa sat in her chair, deep in thought, while TC fidgeted with the handle of his third cup of tea. “So let me get this straight,” she said, crossing her arms and cocking her head slightly. “Starscream works up to twelve hours a day and neither you nor Skywarp can get him to tell you what he does during all that time?”

“I know!” TC exclaimed, startling Buster, who had curled up in his lap to the best of her abilities. He rubbed her head apologetically. “We're not as close as we used to be, but he always told us what was going on in his life. Sure, sometimes he needed some prodding, but he would tell us eventually.” He huffed. “I asked him several times if he could come home earlier, or work less in any way, because it's obviously taking a toll on him. But he either dodges the question or tells me something about Megatron needing him there. Ever since we quit, he gets so quiet and evasive when we ask him about work. I don't like it at all.”

Marissa nodded, stirring her coffee. “You never liked Megatron.” She stated plainly. Thundercracker shuddered. It was true. “TC, if you don't mind me asking,” Marissa started carefully, regarding him with some worry, “what exactly happened there, anyway? If you never liked him, why did you ever work for him? Does Skywarp like him? How did you three end up in this situation?”

TC looked up at her, before avoiding her searching gaze by looking down at Buster instead. “It's a little... complicated.” He said, his voice small. “When are things not with you three?” She joked gently, but it did not reassure him, like she intended. Instead, he seemed churned. “No, you don't understand, Marissa.” He told her, and his usually calm voice hitched ever so slightly. “We weren't always like this, it used to be so easy and good. Starscream used to be okay, he used to take care of himself. We were always... unconventional, but there was nothing we wouldn't tell each other! Until...” He trailed off, hugging himself and looking away again.

Marissa waited a bit, before slowly saying “Until Megatron came into your lives?” TC nodded mutely. She took a deep breath, before lowly asking him: “What happened?”

TC sighed deeply before he began.

“Where to start...? You already know that we moved in together during our sophomore year. And things were pretty good. It was around the time we started our senior year when things started shifting.

 

_

 

 

“Our Littlest has grown so much!” Skywarp cooed and wiped an invisible tear from the corner of his eye. Starscream glared at him, his demeanor more defeated than annoyed for once. “Please don't talk once the presentation has started, Sky.” He said almost pleadingly and TC noticed the way he was fidgeting with the buttons of his white blazer's cuffs. He motioned Starscream over to where he and Skywarp were sitting in the first row of the auditorium and when Starscream cautiously stepped into TC's reach, he straightened out the soft, sky blue lavallière their smallest trinemate was wearing with a smile. “You look great. And you'll do great.” Skywarp smiled as well, holding his hand up and when Starscream hesitantly, questioningly put his hand into the one offered to him, closed both his hands around Starscream’s smaller one, squeezing encouragingly. “Yeah Star, you got this!”

A light blush dusted Starscream’s cheeks as he smiled back at them. “Of course I got this! I’d be offended if you expected anything less.”

The room slowly started filling with more and more people and Starscream returned to the stage. A last glance towards the clock, then his trinemates. Then he pressed the start button on his screen and the first page of his research appeared on the screen above him.

At the beginning of his presentation, Starscream was obviously still a little nervous, but after a minute or two, TC almost did not recognize him. He spent so much time around Starscream, a relaxed, private, at ease Starscream, that he almost forgot how much he _thrived_ under the attention of a full room and how much charisma he truly had once he was holding a speech or, like in this case, was presenting the results of his latest research, something he had worked on through the whole summer, something he had achieved himself and was extremely proud of.

Starscream was all smirks, clever little quips and elegant hand gestures. TC was not following what he was saying at all, instead entranced by how their littlest Seeker could turn a science presentation into a performance. He glanced over at Skywarp and caught him leaning onto his elbow with a dreamy look on his face. He apparently felt TC’s gaze on him because he glanced back and whispered “Primus, he’s so perfect.” and TC could not help but smile dumbly and nod.

 

Their summer had been extremely nice, if uneventful. Starscream had spent most of it in the lab, researching various kinds of plants used in agriculture and how they reacted to various chemicals. TC and Skywarp had meanwhile spent their summer mostly in each others arms and beds. Waiting for Starscream to become part of their relationship did not mean they could not fool around until then, Skywarp had insisted, his smile filled with anticipation and TC had agreed eagerly. Occasionally (at least three times a week), they would drag Starscream out of his lab though to get ice cream, watch a movie or just hang out. Of course, when he did not pull all-nighters he also came home to sleep and sometimes even eat. Spending time together was always good. Like they had agreed on, they never told him about their relationship. But at the same time, the three of them had grown so close to each other, it sometimes felt like they were not even waiting anymore.

TC remembered one time especially vividly, when a slightly drunk Starscream had, after spending the whole evening in a cuddle pile with them, hesitantly, almost shyly, kissed both of them on the cheek before quickly excusing himself for the night and practically fleeing to his room. TC remained on the couch, still trying to wrap his head around what had just happened, when a very happy Skywarp practically launched himself at him, whooping. “Did you see that, TC?? He’s almost ready to tell us he loves us, I can feel it!” He exclaimed with a grin so bright TC felt it might blind him.

But it had not happened yet. Summer had gone by, and with them being as close as they were, he did not find himself unhappy with the situation. He was not brave enough to pepper Starscream’s face with kisses like Skywarp occasionally liked to do, but the scientist would often fall asleep on him or cuddle into him while they were reading on the couch together, so physical affection was there. He sometimes found himself wondering how their relationship would change from the way it already was, besides the sexual aspects. Would their emotional support be the same? Their interactions? How different would 'officially' being in a relationship even be from what they had now?

He could not wait to find the answer.

 

When Starscream finished his presentation, there was a moment of stunned silence in the room, before Skywarp and Thundercracker broke it with loud cheers and clapping, which the rest of the audience quickly joined them in. Starscream shot them a brilliant, if slightly embarrassed smile, which Skywarp responded to with a loud laugh while TC gave him a smile of his own that bordered on apologetic.

A few minutes later, the room started emptying and a small crowd of people had gathered around Starscream, asking questions and making business offers. That was after all what the presentation had been about. TC vaguely recalled what their Littlest had told him about his research - he had found a way to exhilarate the growth of most agricultural plants by at least 200% and was planning to patent and market his method to a suitable sponsor. His trinemates moved to sit in back of the room so they would not disturb anything, waiting for him to finish up so they could celebrate Starscream's success together.

“There were way more people interested in this than I thought there would be.” TC noted after about half an hour. There were only three people left who wanted to talk to Starscream. Skywarp nodded, obviously more than a little bored by now. He pressed his forehead against TC’s shoulder and sighed. “Don’t you think we could join him? Maybe we can urge him on a little. I’m hungry.” He whined and TC gently petted his thigh. “Not yet, Sky. I think it’s important to him to do this on his own.” Skywarp lifted his head slightly to look up at him and nodded a little. “Yeah, I know.” He wrapped his arms around TC then. “I love how soft your are.” He sighed, cuddling into him and TC suppressed a giggle. He leaned into Skywarp to whisper into his ear. “Not the time or place, my love.” This seemed to startle the prankster into realizing where they were and he sat up quickly, back as straight as could be. “You’re right! Sorr- hey... Who is that?”

TC tried to stifle another giggle at Skywarp’s reaction as he followed his line of sight. What he saw gave him one of the most uneasy feelings in his stomach he had ever felt.

Only two people were left on stage – Starscream, and someone who was at least one and a half, if not two heads taller than him. They appeared to be deep in conversation. The other figure was looming over Starscream and standing way too close for TC's liking. He tried reading Starscream's body language to see if he needed help and found that he could not. It was all over the place. He seemed to shake just a little and TC watched as he played with his hair, like he was nervous, but he was smiling all the while, a silly grin he usually reserved for them when Skywarp made a particularly dumb pun or when TC talked about his latest favorite movie for a little too long. It was so strange.

“Is... is Starscream flirting with that guy?” Skywarp suddenly whispered into his ear and TC's eyes widened as the realization why the image in front of him made him so uncomfortable hit with full force.

“What? No! … Do you think he is?” He looked at Skywarp, unsure. He shrugged in response, the disappointment on his face betraying his nonchalance. “I don't like this, TC.” Thundercracker pushed his own disappointment aside, allowing anger and protectiveness to take over. It was so much easier.

“I don't like this guy, Warp! I can't tell you what it is exactly but the way he holds himself, it's creepy. Threatening.” As if on cue, said guy took a step forward, forcing Starscream to take a step back, effectively trapping him between his body and the desk in the middle of the stage. Putting a hand on his arm, he trapped their Star even further. TC felt Skywarp's hand grip his and their eyes met.

_We intervene now._

It did not have to be said out loud.

They both got up and swiftly approached the stage. As he tried not to jog, Thundercracker did his best to come up with the next step of this not-plan, but surprisingly, Skywarp took care of that for him.

“Staaaaaaar!” He squealed, running the last few steps so he could jump onto the stage, landing on his feet in a move that was quite impressive. Vaguely Threatening Guy took a step back from a very wide-eyed Starscream in what could be surprise at either Skywarp's behavior or at the fact that there were other people in the room. TC did not know or care as he took the stairs up the stage, less than two feet away from where Skywarp had done his little stunt.

While he did, Skywarp had wasted no time draping himself over Starscream's back so he could whine directly into his ear. “I know this is important to you and I'm really sorry but I think my stomach is going to digest itself if we don't get something to eat soon.” Starscream, who was fighting a furious blush, tried to push the bigger Seeker off of him. “Skywarp, please!” He hissed, shooting TC, who had placed himself just a little between Starscream and shot the Other Person an accusing look. “Can't you see this is not the righ-”

“And who might these two be, Starscream?”

Vaguely Threatening Guy spoke in a tone that demanded attention. Starscream finally managed to wrangle himself out of Skywarp's grip. “These two”, he said, stepping away from Skywarp, who did not protest verbally, “are the two I told you about, Megatron. Sir.” He added, almost as an afterthought.

“Ah, I see. Your... roommates.” He shot Starscream a smirk TC could not place, but he did notice Starscream's blush deepening. What was this Megatron's deal? Did he think he knew them? “Starscream talks about you two a lot.” Megatron elaborated, extending a hand to Thundercracker, which he eyed suspiciously. Apparently he did. He took the offered hand, refusing to be intimidated and shook it firmly. “My name is Megatron, I'm Starscream's economics professor.” He introduced himself, his grip on TC's hand bordering on painful. “Thundercracker.” He replied, careful to keep a neutral expression. Megatron smiled down at him. “So you're the housewife.” TC spluttered. “Excuse me?!” A booming laugh filled the room.

“Don't be offended, I'm just working with the information I'm given. That must make you...” he turned to Skywarp, condescending grin firmly in place. “The buff, gullible idiot with a knack for quantum physics.” “Huh?” Skywarp looked unsure how to feel about that. Megatron laughed again. “Oh, I like this one.” He turned back to Starscream, who immediately straightened under his gaze. “Anyway Starscream, the invitation to dinner very much still stands. For you. You two will have to excuse me, but I did plan on celebrating this success with my most talented pupil and did not make reservations for any additional guest.”

Thundercracker was still trying to calm down enough to speak without yelling and once again, in his rage electricity seemed almost palpable in the air around him. The nerve of this guy! And why didn't Starscream say anything? He had just called Skywarp, _their_ Skywarp an idiot. Who did this guy even think he was?!

Skywarp broke the tension in the room when Starscream did not answer immediately. “But Star, I thought we were celebrating together?” He sounded absolutely crushed. Starscream had the decency to at least look sheepish. “I know, Skywarp. I just had a lot going on and kind of... forgot? But I'll join you two later tonight.”

“Oh. Uhm. Yeah, okay.” Skywarp murmured. Megatron took a step towards him and _patted his head_. “Don't worry. I'll take good care of him.” He shot TC a grin, and TC could not take the situation anymore. “Fine.” He bit out, grabbing Skywarp's arm as gently as he could, pulling him towards the exit, anywhere where he could escape this. “Have fun.” He called over his shoulder. Somewhere under his anger a part of him hoped he did not sound too aggressive saying that. He did not turn around to see Starscream's reaction.

Skywarp allowed him to pull him along for a while, until they were out of the building. Then he took the lead, gently guiding TC around a corner. There, he gathered him in his arms.

“You're crying.”

Thundercracker touched his face, surprised to find wetness there. “I don't know why.” He told Skywarp, but also himself. Skywarp nodded, letting TC go and holding him at arm's length so he could look into his eyes. “I feel hurt. Betrayed. Replaced.” A sob ripped itself from Thundercracker's throat. “So do I.” He whispered. Skywarp nodded, taking TC's face into his hands and wiping his tears away with his thumbs before pulling him into a chaste kiss. “Let's go home.” He whispered against TC's lips.

Getting home did not take them very long since they lived close to campus. Once there, TC made them both hot chocolate, grateful for the temporary distraction and they curled into each other on Skywarp's bed. “I can't believe he would just forget us like that.” Skywarp muttered, clinging to TC. “I can't believe he would choose that creep over us.” TC growled. “What does Starscream see in that guy? The way he talked to you, patted your head? I was so close to exploding, who does that?!”

“I could tell. I didn't like how he talked to you, either.” Skywarp told him, cuddling closer and TC felt some of the tension drain out of him at Skywarp's touches. Then a thought hit him. “Sky, do you think we're... overprotective? Of him? I mean, if he doesn't want to be with us, we can't just prevent him from seeing other people. That wouldn't be fair.”

Skywarp looked at him with big eyes. “TC, under other circumstances I would agree with you, but we intervened because that guy is creepy and looming and seems like the kind of person who could potentially hurt Star. I trust your gut and so should you.” It took a moment for TC to process that. “I... you... yeah. That did happen.” A pause, then a quiet “Thank you.” Skywarp squeezed him. Then, TC flinched and sat up as another realization hit him. “Oh Primus, and we left Starscream with him. All alone.”

Skywarp pulled him back down. “Don't panic. We'll wait for him, he did say he'd join us later. If he doesn't show up within the next hours, then we begin searching. Okay?” TC nodded hesitantly. “Okay.”

 

It was 1 AM when Starscream did show up, entering the apartment and closing the door behind him quietly. Thundercracker and Skywarp had moved to the couch in the living room at some point, which meant he had to sneak past them to get to his room. When he realized they were there, he looked over to them, seeing that Skywarp was asleep in TC's lap, before his eyes met TC's, who was silently watching him in the dim light of the room. They held each others stare for what felt like a small eternity, before Starscream broke the silence. “Did I wake you up?”

TC sighed, but managed not to scoff. “No. We were waiting for you. Are you okay?” Starscream looked puzzled. “Why wouldn't I be?” Now it was TC's turn to be puzzled. “Is it not obvious?” Before Starscream could reply, Skywarp stirred, sitting up slowly, but not without pressing his face against TC's chest on his way. “So soft.” He murmured, rubbing his eyes. He then noticed Starscream, still standing in front of the door. “Hey, Star. You're back.” The lack of his usual enthusiasm and greeting hug was not lost on TC and if the flash of... disappointment? On Starscream's face was any indication, it was not on him, either.

“You two are acting weird.” He told them finally, frustration seeping into his voice. Thundercracker sighed again, the emotional toll of the evening weighting down on him. He had had time to reflect and process and it helped him to stay calm now. Skywarp shot him a worried look, and he responded with a tranquil look on his own before speaking.

“You really don't realize what happened today, do you?” He sounded worn and defeated. When Starscream did not look any less confused than before, Skywarp spoke up as well: “You kind of left us hanging today, Star.”

Starscream's confusion turned into snappish anger. “Oh please, because I celebrated my success with someone who actually _helped_ me achieve it instead of you two? Because I chose to spend time with someone else for once? For something _I did by myself_? It was _my_ presentation and I can decide how I'll celebrate _my_ success and you do _not_ get to guilt me over it!”

TC's brows furrowed. “Guilt you? There's a difference between guilt tripping someone and communicating why their behavior has hurt you. If this came off as anything else, tell me how and I'm willing to work on it.” After a moment of thinking about Starscream's statement, another thought occurred to him. “And what do you mean, _actually_ helped you? Did you need more from us than bring you food and drag you from your lab every now and then? Because we would have been willing to do that for you, Star. Just tell us things like that.”

Starscream looked like he was about to reply, when Skywarp suddenly jumped a little, eyes wide in realization. “Did he tell you that?” He asked Starscream before he could say anything. “I've never heard you talk like that before. We don't mind you spending time with other people, we never have. But tell me, did you come to those conclusions by yourself?”

An angry, embarrassed flush took over Starscream's face and the other two immediately knew Skywarp's guess was right. It took him a little too long to gather his words, emotion making them shaky. “I don't see how that is any of your business. If it doesn't bother you when I spend time with other people, then why are you acting like this? How have I let you down today?”

“Were you not there today?” Thundercracker asked, his temper rising again. “When Megatron? Was it? Called Skywarp an idiot _to his face,_ in front of both of us? Called me a housewife? Implying that was what you've told him? And you didn't deny it at all! Any of it! You just let it happen.” Skywarp nodded, silently adding: “Is that what we are to you? A housekeeper and an idiot?”

There was nothing but shock on Starscream's face. “It was a joke. It... it was clearly a joke, I thought you two could tell.” His voice, shaky from anger before now sounded like he was trying his best not to cry. The other two immediately softened. More tears was not what they needed right now.

Thundercracker gave another sigh. “It wasn't funny. He's in no position to make fun of us. We're not friends with him, we're friends with you.” He explained calmly, patiently, his voice soft. “Warp and I don't major in material science and film to be called an idiot and a housekeeper by a complete stranger.”

Starscream was quiet for a while, and TC and Skywarp knew him well enough by now to know he needed a bit for his emotions to settle. After a long moment, he huffed a little, looking at his own feet. “Fine... Fine, yeah, I see where you're coming from. I didn't mean for you to be hurt.”

The words “I'm sorry” were never uttered and the couple had stopped expecting them from him a long time ago. They knew they would find anonymous gifts around the apartment very soon, instead. They nodded. “Thank you for understanding.” TC offered and Skywarp gave Starscream a smile when he looked up at them again.

He nodded as well, but did not smile. “I'm, uh... I'm going to bed. It's late.” He muttered, and started moving towards his room. “Wait.” Skywarp said suddenly, getting up and quickly making his way over to Starscream. He wrapped him in his arms and pressed a kiss to the crown of his head. TC got up as well, hesitantly, but Skywarp met his gaze and smiled at him encouragingly, so he joined them, and he and Skywarp sandwiched Starscream between them in a hug like they had done many times before.

“We love you, Star.” Skywarp whispered, and TC was sure he felt him tremor ever so slightly at the words. “We were worried about you, that's why we fuss so much.” He murmured and felt Starscream nod. After a while, Skywarp quietly asked “Couch?” and the other two agreed.

“I'm still not sure I understand why you two were so worried.” Starscream finally said, after the three of them had taken their usual positions on the couch, with TC and Skywarp cuddled against each other and Starscream laying across them both, his head in TC's lap. Skywarp looked over at TC, who felt a pang in his stomach.

“To tell you the truth,” he started, unsure, “Megatron just didn't really make the best first impression on me. Even before he insulted us. He just kind of... loomed over you, was in your personal space. That's why we came on stage in the first place.” A moment of silence. Then, to their surprise, Starscream started laughing.

“I mean, I see what you mean.” He started between laughs. “But Megatron isn't dangerous or anything. I like him.” When both of his trinemates stared at him with horrified expressions, he quickly clarified. “Not like that! As a mentor and leader. He has good ideas and assertiveness. I appreciate that. He offered me to start a business with him today and I think I'll accept. He has a lot of qualities I look for in a business partner.”

“I don't know, Star.” TC said, unsure how to phrase his point. Skywarp quietly followed the conversation, brows furrowed. “Please don't think that I'm not happy for you, I know running a business is your dream, but I just. I don't know. I just didn't get a good vibe from him.”

Starscream smiled up at him, placing his hand on the side of his face. This startled TC into meeting his eyes. “I appreciate your concern, Thunder. But don't worry, I know how to deal with people who try to feel better about themselves by putting me down. I've dealt with them my whole life. I'll be fine.” Thundercracker actively chose not to mention how Megatron had obviously already tried to manipulate Starscream's view of them and nodded slowly.

Skywarp frowned. “You shouldn't have to deal with people like that, Star. Especially not in the work place.” Starscream folded his hands on his stomach and smiled at Skywarp as well. “If it doesn't work out, he'll just be a means to an end. But right now, I don't have the means to start a business by myself. Have a little faith in me, I'm sure I can do this.”

Starscream fell asleep not too much later, pressing his face into TC's lap, who decided it was time to get him into bed. So he carried him to his room, tucking him in. Before leaving the room, he softly touched Starscream's hair, who smiled just a little in his sleep. Smiling as well, TC left Starscream's room, closing the door behind him. He then entered Skywarp's room, whose owner was waiting for him, sitting on the bed they often shared these days. TC still preferred sleeping alone sometimes and Skywarp understood and respected that.

He looked at his partner, whose face showed insecurity and worry, matching his own emotions and he sighed. “What do we do, TC?” He asked, and Thundercracker shrugged helplessly, joining Skywarp on the bed. “I don't know, Sky. It's his decision, isn't it? I don't think we should stop him from what he wants to do. But I'm really worried about him. I don't think we should leave him alone with that creep, either.” Skywarp nodded. Then, he slowly turned to look at Thundercracker. “So what if we join him?”

TC looked at him, flabbergasted. “Join him?” “Yeah, join their business. You know PR and stuff, and I'm technically a scientist. I'm sure he could use our help. And that way, he won't be alone.” He looked unsure, but not unbelieving. Leave it to Skywarp to make a crazy idea sound plausible and doable. The longer he thought about it, the less reasons TC found to object. He nodded slowly, grasping Skywarp's hand. “Okay. Yeah.” He agreed, and Skywarp smiled at him. “If it comes to that, if they do start a business... let's join them.”

 

_

 

  
“So that's what we did. And in the end, we couldn't keep it up, couldn't keep up with the constant terrible decisions Megatron would make, with the way he treated us. So we quit. And I still can't help but wonder if that might have been a dangerous decision.” TC ended his retelling. Buster had fallen asleep on his lap and he gently stroked her head, seeking comfort in the softness of her fur and the warmth she radiated.

Marissa seemed to think. Finally, she asked. “So how did you grow distant from Starscream?” Thundercracker sighed. “Megatron. I can't prove it, but I'm pretty sure he told Starscream that he's too close to us, that we're overbearing, not minding our own business. Stuff like that. The more time he'd spent with Megatron, the more he'd say stuff like that to us. At some point we started to believe it and started being more distant. We gave up on being with him, too, after we quit. He didn't talk to us for a few weeks after that. But it was so hard to see him like that, lonely, obviously not even eating. Seeing someone I love so defeated hurt, especially knowing that his dream was shattering while I got to live my dream and write for a living every day. Skywarp felt the same, so we bullied him into talking to us again. He fought it sometimes, still does, but I think we're slowly getting back to where we were before.”

Marissa smiled and nodded. “It sounds like it.” She told him and TC beamed at her. “I really hope so.” He whispered.

They finished their drinks and Marissa promised him she would review some legal options. “My family has quite a few connections. I'll be in touch.” Thundercracker smiled down at her, gently taking her by the shoulders. “You've already helped so much by listening.” He told her earnestly before wrapping her in a hug and Marissa responded by wrapping her arms around his middle in return. “It'll work out, big guy.” She reassured him gently and Thundercracker nodded against her shoulder.

He said good bye to Buster by kneeling next to her on the floor and when she put her front paws on his legs to lick his face, he cupped her jaw with both hands and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “I'll see you soon, Buster. Be good.” He told her and she gave a single, quiet bark.

He parted ways with them in front of the café. “Say 'hi' to Skywarp for me, my dad says he's impressed with his work.” Marissa told him and he told her he would, giving a little wave before making his way back to his car. He contemplated whether he would go home right away or take care of the groceries while he was downtown and absentmindedly checked his phone to find a message from Skywarp.

 **i can't make it home tonight** **｡ﾟ** **(** **ﾟ** **´Д`** **ﾟ** **)** **ﾟ｡** **say hi to star for me!!!! (* >ω<)** **ノ—** **==ΞΞ☆love u!! be careful!!!!**

He smiled sadly to himself. Skywarp enjoyed his new job a lot, was close friends with his colleagues and grateful to do work that challenged him both mentally and physically. But it often meant staying longer, sometimes even through the night and TC missed him terribly on those days. Also, because he was part of a secret military organization, he was not actually allowed to use his phone at work, for security reasons. So whenever TC did get a message from him, he knew he had snuck out to text him. So his answer had to be short.

**Okay. I will, love you, too!**

As he continued his walk to where he parked his car, he idly scrolled through his news feed, when one head line caught his attention. “ _Scandal: rumors of illegal weapons sold by-”_ He froze, reading it two, three more times, the letters making less and less sense. That was where he used to work. That was where Starscream was working right now. At this very moment.

He physically shook his head. Those rumors had to be just that – rumors. Starscream's company was a distributor of chemical fertilizer. He broke out of his frozen state and did the first thing that came to mind – calling Starscream. It sent him directly to voice box. TC frowned, hanging up. Starscream was usually available, even during office hours. He tried calling the company over their landline and got an error message.

He tried keeping the dreadful feeling that was taking hold at bay. Surely, he was overreacting. But he could not keep the pictures of Megatron, looming over Starscream out of his mind. They were too fresh after he had just retold that story. He took a deep breath and made a decision. The office building was not too far from here. Five minutes by foot. He would go there and pay Starscream a quick visit. Just to make sure he was okay.

Trying not to break into a sprint, he swiftly started walking in the direction of the building, dread and anxiety heavy in his heart, dark thoughts clouding his mind.

 

_I hope it's not too late._

 


	8. secrets and lies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TC gets to the bottom of things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, it's been a hot minute.  
> University has been kicking my butt big time and some personal stuff basically took all motivation from me.  
> I had the beginning of this chapter in my drafts ever since I posted the last one,  
> but I kind of started disliking this ff and how cheesy it was and all that.  
> Then I read all of your kind comments and tried to bring what I already had to a length and quality that was worth uploading.  
> I hope I reached that goal.
> 
> I can't say when the next chapter will come, writing more heavy stuff is really hard on me and I'm also right in the middle of writing my bachelor's thesis. But I have it planned out so maybe it'll even be out before the year is over.
> 
> Hope you all enjoy and that this was worth the wait!
> 
>  
> 
> also boiiiiii it's a rating change  
> we got there in the end only took us 8 chapters and it's prolly not even worth it

Walking up the stairs to his trinemates’ apartment, he pulled out the key they had given him when they first moved in. The same day he had given them the spare keys to his apartment on the floor above theirs. He sighed, exhausted, and let himself in. As he stepped through the door, the sight of his trinemates on the couch greeted him.

“Star! It’s so good to see you, come in!” Skywarp chirped and TC gave him a bright smile. He smiled back, toeing off his heeled shoes and made his way through the living room to the couch, where he collapsed into their waiting arms. Skywarp gently lifted his face to meet his eyes and he felt Thundercracker’s fingers softly play with his hair as Skywarp pressed a hungry kiss to his lips, making them tingle and giving him butterflies so intense, he had to fight curling into himself as lust stirred in him. Then, he felt TC’s deep voice rumble behind him in a chuckle.

“Rough day?” He asked and Starscream turned towards him so he could kiss him as well. Thundercracker’s kiss was gentle, reassuring and Starscream deepened it without thinking. Parting from his blue-clad trinemate, panting slightly, he pressed their foreheads together. “The usual.” He told them and was very proud of himself for not stuttering or sounding too breathless.

TC and Skywarp looked at him, then at each other, then back to him. They both grinned. Suddenly, Skywarp pushed him onto his back as Thundercracker got behind him so his head landed in his lap. He gasped as Skywarp climbed over him, caging his shoulders with his arms. While TC gently caressed his upper body, Skywarp leaned down, whispering directly into Starscream’s ear.

“Want us to fuck it all better?”

Starscream’s breath hitched and he shuddered, a tiny squeak escaping him. “Please.” He managed to get out and from what he could tell, both looked very pleased with that answer. Thundercracker grabbed his hands and pinned them next to his head. Starscream writhed in his grip as Skywarp slid down his body, placing a teasing kiss to the strip of skin that had been exposed of Starscream’s torso, before hooking his fingers into Starscream’s pants and pulling them down-

Suppressing a shudder, Starscream forcefully ended his little fantasy, blushing wildly and fumbling with the documents in front of him. He’d never get any work done if he kept this up.

As he tried to get back into his work, he did not notice as heavy footsteps approached him.

  
__

 

TC stood in front of the entrance to the office building, pushing down the panic that was welling up inside him. He had used the doorbell three times already and no one had answered. Pacing in little circles, he tried to calm himself down, but to no avail. He knew Starscream was here. It was past lunch time. Somebody had to be in that building. Why was nobody reacting to the doorbell?

Cursing under his breath, he stopped and looked up at the several rows of windows above him. He entertained the idea of trying to climb up there for a moment before shaking his head at himself. He spent way too much time around Skywarp and his military buddies.

Skywarp.

Pulling out his phone, TC texted a quick message to Skywarp, describing his situation. Skywarp would have some insane plan that just might work, he knew it. When he hit ‘send’, he was almost immediately presented with a message that read ‘message could not be recieved’ in bright, red letter that seemed to mock him. TC stared at them, disbelievingly. Right. Skywarp wasn’t actually available at work. How could he forget?

He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. Panicking would not help anyone. Slowly, he started walking around the building, trying to come up with another plan. Reaching the backdoor of the building, he paused, before going for the door handle. Unsurprisingly, it was locked. TC considered the combination lock for a moment. He still remembered what the code had been before he quit working here, but the thought of no one changing the code after he and Skywarp had quit was so ridiculous that he immediately dismissed it. Megatron was not that unguarded... right?

Without him noticing, his fingers had wandered to the keys, hovering above them. The lock was his only option right now, he realized. Then, with a pang in his stomach, he remembered that if he entered the wrong code, there would be an alarm going off upstairs. Skywarp had accidentally triggered it many times and his instinct told him that he did not need to make any more fuss after the doorbell fiasco mere minutes ago.

Maybe Starscream had made sure that the code was still the same so they would have some way to get to him?

It sounded ridiculous even in his head. But it was a comforting thought none the less. Steeling himself, he punched in the six-digit code and after another moment, hit the green button that would open the door.

A soft buzzing sounded, and Thundercracker involuntarily felt himself tearing up a little from the feeling of relief washing over him.

Pushing the door open, he slipped inside, careful to close it quietly behind himself. The feeling of dread returned almost immediately when he found himself in the back of the almost completely dark lobby, which was only lit by a few rays of daylight shining through the slits of the closed blinds in front of the windows.

Carefully, he walked a little further into the room, allowing his eyes to slowly adjust to the darkness while trying to listen to his surroundings. Holding his breath, he thought he could make out muffled sobbing from his right and his blood ran cold. He knew that sound. He hated hearing it, but he would always recognize the sound of his trineleader in distress.

To his right, there were several couches and beanbag chairs, usually used for casual business meetings or for the employees to lounge in while having lunch. Upon closer inspection he could not help but notice the chairs had been stacked into a shapeless heap of fabric and filling. When he approached, he realized the sniffling was coming from under them. He crouched down, trying to find the source of the sound.

“Starscream?” he whispered at the heap, almost hopefully and the sound stopped for a moment before it moved just a little as Starscream's head shakily emerged from between the chairs. It might have made for a funny image if not for the tear tracks and look of fear on Starscream's face, now mere inches from TC's own.

“T-Thunder?” he choked out, and TC nodded, slowly. To his surprise and horror, fresh tears welled up, streaming down Starscream's face and for a moment, TC was back at the campus of his college and trying to talk to a shaking and crying Starscream, who had been pushed to the ground by Cliffjumper and his friends.

“What happened, are you hurt?” he found himself mirroring his words from back then and Starscream shook his head, staring at him in disbelief, the tears not stopping.

  
“No... no, you shouldn't be here.” he told him, sounding scared and desperate and defeated and Thundercracker saw the bruise then, a big, purple blotch, marring the side of Starscream's face and almost reaching up to his eye. Shock, sadness, disappointment in himself and anger all bubbled up, making him see red, but Starscream's scared face grounded him, allowing him to push all of them down for now.

“What happened?” he whispered, more gently this time and Starscream's eyes widened before he avoided TC's gaze. He did not say anything. Carefully, TC pried one of the chairs to the side so he could get closer to him. Starscream did not protest and so TC kept going, until he exposed one of Starscream's hands. Taking it, he gently pulled him from the heap of shapeless beanbag chairs, trying to pull him into his arms. That finally seemed to snap him out of it, as he met TC's eyes with a wide-eyed, scared look.

Apologetically, TC let go of him. “I'm sorry.” He murmured, now avoiding Starscream's eyes in return, unsure what exactly he was apologizing for, but feeling he overstepped a line none the less.

Suddenly, Starscream launched himself at him with a sob, forcing him to kneel instead of crouch, so he would not topple over with Starscream in his arms. The smaller seeker buried his head into his shoulder, clinging to him and TC did his best to gather him in a hug.

“You were right. About h-him.” Starscream choked out and Thundercracker felt more wetness against his shoulder as well as Starscream' shaking getting harder. He tightened his hold, holding back tears. It was not hard to put two and two together. “I didn't want to be.” He whispered, more to himself than to anyone else. He started pulling Starscream to his feet. “Let's get you out of here.”

“I don't think so.” Said a voice that Thundercracker had hoped he would never have to hear again. Megatron was standing in the middle of the lobby and how he had gotten there without either of them noticing, TC would never find out. Starscream had gone completely still in his arms and so he opted for carefully pushing him behind himself so he could shield him from Megatron, who had started approaching them casually.

Thundercracker could not help but snarl at him. “What are you doing here? And what do you want?” He demanded, as Megatron came to a stop in front of him, too close for comfort, close enough to loom over both of them. TC swallowed, but made sure to hold his ground. He could feel Starscream holding onto the back of his jacket, shaking.

Megatron grinned at him, nonplussed. “I don't believe I need to explain to you that this is my office. And I want my employee back. His hours are far from over for today.” TC's eyebrows furrowed. So Starscream was just an employee now?

“He's not feeling well. I'm taking him home.” He sneered. Behind him, Starscream whimpered almost inaudibly. Megatron regarded him for a moment. “You don't work here anymore, Thundercracker. And back when you did there was a reason I never gave you the kind of authority to decide these things.”

Thundercracker snapped. “Look, I don't know what you're trying to play here. This is clearly not a normal work situation so why are we pretending that it is?!” He did not raise his voice, was proud of himself for it. “You're not taking him.” Megatron hissed, leaning down to be on eye-level with TC, who gritted his teeth and snarled “He's coming with me!”

A sharp pain cut across his face the same moment a loud smack echoed through the room. Seeing white, TC vaguely registered Starscream crying out behind him and he dizzily realized that Megatron must have hit him.

Before he could come back to his senses, he felt a tight grip on his wrist, yanking him around, into a direction he could not see. When he realized that the person grabbing his wrist (Megatron, his mind helpfully supplied) tried to drag him up a flight of stairs he started resisting, which resulted in another hand yanking him by his hair and Starscream's cries getting louder. Moments later, he was pushed to the floor. “I'll deal with you later.” Megatron growled, before a door was closed and a lock clicked.

 

TC blinked frantically, desperately trying to clear his vision, when he felt hands on both sides of his face. Starscream, he realized with some relief, and when he finally stopped seeing stars, he saw that Starscream was kneeling in front of him, panic and anguish written all over his face.

When he managed to focus his eyes on him for more than a moment, Starscream seemed the tiniest bit relieved, but it was short-lived. “Thundercracker...” he whispered, and it tapered into a sob as fresh tears welled up in his eyes, overflowing quickly. Mirroring Starscream, Thundercracker brought his hands up to Starscream's face, cupping his jawline in them and wiping the tears away with his thumbs. “Shhh, Star, I'm okay. I'm here.” He tried to comfort both of them, painfully aware of it being a weak attempt at best.

Starscream's crying only got worse. “You're bleeding, Thunder.” He told him, bringing his own hands up for TC to look at. His hands were stained where he had touched the corner of his mouth and Thundercracker let go of Starscream as well, realizing he was indeed tasting copper. “I'm okay.” He tried to comfort Starscream again, who shook his head slowly and buried his head in his blood-stained hands.

“This is all my fault.” he whispered shakily and Thundercracker did not know what to do besides gather him in his arms. He pressed a careful kiss to the crown of Starscream's head. “I don't think so.” He tried, and Starscream looked up at him, disbelievingly.

“Tell me what happened, my Star.”


	9. pain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Starscream and Thundercracker have a heart-to-heart?
> 
> TW: Sexual assault is referenced/mentioned in this chapter. Nothing graphic but it's there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is short but I feel I'm getting better at this again.  
> Sorry the last chapter was written so terribly,  
> I was really going through it.  
> I hope I can improve from here on out.  
> Uni is still tough but recreational writing has been such a saving grace for me lately so maybe the next chapter will come in a timely manner? Depends on my motivation tbh but there is a chance. :')
> 
> Enjoy and as usual, please tell me what you think if you have a moment!

“It was about some kind of scandal. He came into my office and blamed me. He hit me when I denied being at fault.” Staring at a spot somewhere on the wall, Starscream gave an almost monotone summary of the events of the past two hours. How he had excused himself after being hit. How Megatron let him leave. How he had hid under the beanbag chairs until TC found him. After finding that his phone was not in his pocket anymore, Thundercracker had started pacing angrily, while Starscream sat on the floor, shoulders slumped, looking even smaller than usual.

The pain from Megatron's hit still made his face pulse and with an angry hiss, TC started checking the windows of the room they were locked in. It was one of the smaller spare offices and only fit a single desk, but the windows were rather large. Unfortunately they were also locked. “I can't believe this.” He growled to himself. After another quick look around the room, he grabbed the phone from the table, only to realize the cord had been cut. Megatron had not changed the code to the back door but had taken the time to cut the phone cord in this room? This had to be a sick joke.

With a snarl, TC chucked the phone into the bin and continued pacing. “We'll get him for this.” He told Starscream, who had watched his outburst with large, scared eyes. After a moment of neither of them speaking and TC trying to swallow his rage, Starscream reached for his wrist when he passed him. Stopping, TC looked down at him, surprised. The smaller seeker did not meet his eyes.

“I’m… I’m sorry.” He murmured, voice raw with emotion. The words sounded strange, foreign to TC and he realized with a start that it was the first time he had ever heard those words from Starscream. “I’m sorry for dragging you into this. If I had just handled this myself-” “What are you talking about?” TC interrupted him, disbelievingly. Starscream’s eyes widened. TC knelt down and lightly touched Starscream's arm. “I came here by myself. I chose to be here, by your side. This isn’t your fault, none of this is.” “You don’t know that.” Starscream told him, but the conviction in his voice was a little weaker this time.

TC pulled him into a careful hug which Starscream did not reciprocate, but also did not protest against. “I know you’re still as great as you thought yourself to be back when I met you. Maybe you forgot that you are. But Sky and I will always be there to remind you.” He whispered into Starscream’s hair. The little seeker in his arms started shaking in response and brought his own arms up to cling to him. TC held him as he felt wetness starting to seep through the shoulder of his jacket.

After a few moments, Starscream pulled away and tried to discreetly wipe his face on his sleeve. Thundercracker sighed and sat down, cross-legged, not caring about the fact that he was wearing a skirt at that moment. “What do we do?” He asked Starscream, who had averted his eyes from him again. All he got in response was a shake of the smaller seeker's head. Going over their options in his head, TC suddenly froze.

“Hey, Star... if he didn't come after you when you left... why hide? Why didn’t you just… leave?” He asked, confused. Starscream’s eyes snapped up to meet his. “I can’t just leave! This is my company as well, I’d lose everything!” Worn desperation tinted his voice. Thundercracker’s brows furrowed. “Besides,” Starscream continued, quieter now, eyes downcast again, “I probably really did cause the scandal in some way. Why else would he punish me for it?”

Feeling his hands starting to tremble in suppressed anger, TC shook his head. “Even if you did,” he said as calmly as possible, “since when does that give anyone the right to hit you?”

“Since I could have done better.”

It was like another slap to the face. For a moment, Thundercracker was unsure if he had imagined Starscream replying. The self-deprecation of the other always made him feel helpless. He never knew how to react, especially when it was right after having told him how highly he thought of him. Could he just tell him again? That would make it sound less sincere, right? After a long moment, he gently covered Starscream's hand with his own, which startled Starscream into looking at him again. “Star, please. Why are you so hard on yourself?”

Starscream's eyes wandered to their connected hands for a moment, before he teared up again, his face red. “You don't know anything.” He whispered. “Then tell me. Help me understand.” Thundercracker pleaded. A shaky exhale and falling tears. “This isn't the first time this has happened. A-after you left... I think he lost it. He started firing everyone else, or they quit. I don't know anymore. He threatens me. Sometimes, he locks me in here until I'm done with whatever task he's given me. There was a meeting with a business partner yesterday. He t-touched me in front of them when I tried to take part in it... I hate it so much, Thunder. I just want him out of this business. But he refuses to sell his part of it to me. And I'm in with too much to just leave. And with this scandal? I'll lose everything...” His eyes widened. “Primus. I'll lose everything.”

Thundercracker stared at him, speechless. Touched him. _Touched him_. Touched _Starscream_. _In front of others_. _Touched_ him. It seemed to echo in his mind. Clenching his teeth, he felt like the air around him was sizzling. Angry tears sprang to his eyes and he exhaled shakily. “I'll kill him.”

A startled laugh left Starscream, but it was short. “I'm serious.” Thundercracker declared, his eyes ablaze. “I don't care who he thinks he is. How could he do this to you.” He wiped his eyes with his sleeve, mirroring what Starscream had done earlier. “We'll make this right, Star, I promise. Sky and I, we'll help you. Forget Megatron. He doesn't own you.”

“I don't?”

Both of them flinched, and TC jumped to his feet, shielding Starscream from Megatron, who had somehow opened the door without either of them noticing.

“You!” Thundercracker spat and without thinking, he launched himself at Megatron, aiming for his face. For the briefest of moments before his elbow connected, he thought he saw Megatron's eyes widening and could not help but grin triumphantly.

A dull cracking sound. A yell. Thundercracker blinked. Megatron's nose was broken. And yet he had somehow grabbed him after the impact instead of reacting to the pain in any way. Blood was splattering from Megatron's face and TC managed to wrench his arm free, but was grabbed by his collar instead and Megatron brought him closer to his face. They snarled at each other for a moment, before TC kicked at Megatron, who buckled briefly. Trying to wrench himself out of the grip again, TC took a step backwards, only to have Megatron throw him in that direction. His shoulder slammed into the corner of the desk and he heard a sharp cry, unsure if it was Starscream's or his own. Excruciating pain shot through the right side of his torso and he slumped down in agony. Starscream's voice hitched in panic. “Thunder! No, please, no!”

That was all it took. Megatron grinned, blood still dripping from his nose and chin as he grabbed Starscream by his wrist, twisting it painfully. “No! Let go of me!” Starscream struggled, but he did not stand a chance. “Thunder!” He cried as Megatron started dragging him from the room.

Fighting to get back up, Thundercracker grit his teeth. “Starscream.” He wheezed, making it back to his feet and taking shaky steps towards Megatron. The last thing he saw before the door closed in front of him was Megatron's sardonic expression and Starscream's terrified tears.

The lock clicked the moment he finally reached the door. It felt like it was an eternity too late.

 


	10. secrets revealed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Megatron reveals a few things Starscream didn't want anyone to know.
> 
> TW: Sexual Assault  
> Nothing too graphic but it's a big plot point in this chapter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inspiration hit me hard on this fine Sunday.

Starscream barely registered where Megatron was taking him as he struggled in his hold. From afar, he saw the doorknob TC was behind being pushed down. For a split second, an irrational part of him thought it would open, but it did not. Then, suddenly, Megatron's grip on his wrist loosened. In his irrational state, Starscream tried to move towards the door, only to now realize that Megatron had handcuffed one of his wrists to a ring at the side of the big mahogany table usually used for business meetings. The same table he had groped Starscream at the day before.

Looking up at him, he met his eyes for the first time since Thundercracker had shown up at the office. Megatron snarled down at him, his face still covered in his own blood. Starscream flinched. “Your... roommate hits surprisingly hard for someone of his inches.” Megatron growled, dragging his hand through the mess on his face with a scowl, before, to Starscream's surprise and horror, kneeling down next to him.

Megatron reached for him with his blood-stained hand, and Starscream scrambled in the opposite direction, desperately trying to avoid being touched, only to bump into the table he was handcuffed to. “Get away from me.” He hissed, trying to let anger overshadow his fear. Megatron rolled his eyes, undeterred, and Starscream squeezed his eyes shut. He did not want to see it coming. They flew open in surprise when Megatron gently traced the bruise he had left on Starscream's face, his brows furrowed in... regret? Starscream could not place his expression at all. Megatron sighed.

“Look what you made me do. Such a shame, really. I had high hopes for you.” Thundercracker's words echoed in his mind, and his eyes hardened. “I didn't make you do anything. This was your choice.” The moment he said it, Megatron's touch on his face became cruel, pressing down on the bruise. Starscream winced, but was determined to not show weakness anymore, locking his jaw and meeting Megatron's glare with one of his own.

“Those other two always were a bad influence on you. Actions have consequences. It's as easy as that, my dear Starscream.” He said coldly, removing his hand from his cheek, the drying blood making it stick slightly. Starscream shuddered in disgust. “What do you want?” He spat and Megatron chuckled. “I'm glad you're asking. The information you leaked to ruin me and cause that scandal? It will be the downfall of this whole business.“

“I didn't-” Starscream started, but suddenly, Megatron's hand was around his throat, squeezing dangerously. “Don't lie to me!” He growled, and Starscream, terrified, went limb in his grasp. Apparently satisfied, Megatron let him go and continued as if nothing happened. ”Don't worry, there won't be any legal consequences for me. As you are aware, I know people in high places. But this company will be shut down. I'm afraid our time together has been cut short. You know entirely too much. However...”

The hand that had been on his throat moments ago suddenly trailed up his thigh in a mock-caress. Flinching away from the contact, Starscream tried kicking at Megatron, who caught his leg around the ankle and yanked, pulling Starscream onto his back. “No! Stop that!” He screeched, but Megatron ignored him, pinning his free wrist to the floor with his other hand, Megatron tsk-ed at him. “To be honest with you, I miss how agreeable you used to be, before you brought those other two aboard. Though I will admit...”

He grinned down at Starscream, his nose still a mess and still dripping blood every now and then, staining both their clothes. “That fit you threw yesterday when you stormed out of the meeting was very entertaining. Reminded me why I kept you around for so long.” His free hand trailed to Starscream's waistband and he leaned down to whisper into his ear. “Let's move this along, shall we? It's not like you didn't secretly want this from the start.”

The reality of what was about to happen hit the red-clad Seeker at full force. He screamed, a wordless, shrill sound and managed to pull his wrist out of Megatron's slightly slackened grip. Without thinking, he aimed for his captor's already broken nose. Recognition flashed in Megatron's eyes and his hand was caught before it could connect. Leaning over him again, he brought his wrist back to the floor. Megatron's eyebrows furrowed in anger. Starscream trembled in fear.

“I do enjoy you putting up a fight, but this is decidedly too much. You'll ruin your own fun if you keep this up.” Turning his head slightly, Megatron glanced towards the door of the room Thundercracker was still locked in. His face split into a malicious grin as he turned back to look down at Starscream again.

“How about we involve him? Would that tame you a little? He always seemed like the type to resist a little, so that should be fun. Maybe I can even get him to match your voice.”

A cold shudder wracked Starscream's body at the thought. “Don't touch him.” He spat. Megatron smiled down at him. He caressed his cheek again with the hand he was not pinning his wrist with. For a moment, Starscream thought he could see pity on Megatron's face. “He really does mean a lot to you, doesn't he?” He asked gently. Starscream nodded mutely. With a sigh, Megatron pulled his hand back and got off of him. Relief flooded Starscream momentarily and he quickly sat up as far as he could. Standing up, Megatron seemed to contemplate for a moment. “And I thought you had gotten over your silly little crush on them.”

Shame and sadness coursed through him at the statement and his eyes wandered to the floor. Megatron leaned down and put a hand on his shoulder. “You know, Starscream?” Looking up at him, Starscream caught the glint in his eyes and wished he would never know. But his leader had never been that kind. “I think that's all the more reason to make him watch.”

The malicious grin was back.

__

TC put up a fight stronger and more vicious than anything Starscream could ever do. The moment Megatron opened the door to his makeshift prison, he could hear him yelling, desperately, his usually calm voice hitching and panicked. “What did you do to him?! Don't touch me!”

If it had not been for his injured shoulder, maybe TC could have stunned Megatron long enough to flee, but in his state ( _it's my fault, this is all my fault_ ) Megatron overpowered Thundercracker with relative ease, all while occasionally checking Starscream's reaction.

When TC spotted Starscream sitting on the floor, cuffed to a table, he immediately cried out “Star!” and tried to get to him. Megatron used that moment to trip him and in his imbalance, pin him to the floor, face down. Starscream cried out in terror, Thundercracker in pain. Megatron just grinned.

Looking up at Starscream, TC's face was mostly worry. “Did he hurt you?” He asked, even as Megatron was sitting on his legs to ensure he would not kick him again. Before Starscream could reply in any way, Megatron put his elbow on TC's injured shoulder and leaned forward, putting most of his weight on it.

Thundercracker's scream was ear-piercing and Megatron smirked as Starscream's eyes filled with tears and he screamed along with his trinemate. “Thunder!”

As Thundercracker wheezed in pain, Megatron chuckled to himself. “I was wrong.” He told Starscream conversationally. “His voice doesn't rival yours. At least not yet.” Leaning back again, making sure to keep his hand on TC's injured shoulder, he trailed his hand along TC's thigh, lifting his skirt as he did.

“You're lucky, Thundercracker. We decided to involve you in a little fun we were having.” Thundercracker froze momentarily before his face shifted into one of disbelief and disgust. “Get your filthy hands off of me!” He hissed and Megatron responded with a booming laugh as he roughly groped him.

“TC, I'm so sorry.” Starscream cried, before raising his voice in distress. “Why are you doing this?” Megatron smirked at him. “Maybe I'm doing this for you.” Starscream shook his head, the tears coming faster. “You're not. I don't want any of this.” “Is that what you think? Because I think you do.” Thundercracker growled. “Don't listen to him, Star.” Megatron pressed down on his shoulder again, not silencing him, but making his noises wordless.

Megatron's hand went between Thundercracker's legs, who cried out in pain. “Even through his clothes, he feels good.” Megatron informed Starscream with another sadistic grin. Starscream trembled in response, shaking his head. “Stop.” He whimpered, but was again ignored.

“Oh, come on, I might as well tell you. It's not like you would have ever found out yourself. You never were brave enough to tell them.”

Starscream met Megatron's eyes, pleading, silently shaking his head.

Thundercracker had stopped struggling, trying to get Starscream to look at him, searching his face.

Somehow, Megatron's grin got even wider.

“That you desire them.”

Both Seekers froze completely, eyes wide.

“Starscream?” Thundercracker whispered.

Megatron chuckled as Starscream finally met his trinemate's eyes, tears running down his face.

“Thunder, I... I'm so sorry, I...”

“You should be thanking me.” Megatron told him, unbuttoning the waistband of Thundercracker's skirt to get to that of his tights. “Cowardly as you are, word would never have gotten out.” Petting TC's back with a grin, he leaned down and stage whispered: “He already told me about it when he first started working for me. It's been going on for a while.”

Starscream's face burned in shame as he cried out. “Stop touching him!” Thundercracker had stopped moving altogether, his face one of sorrow as Megatron tried to pry his tights off of him.

“Star... all these years...” He whispered and Starscream felt like he had yelled at him, shrinking into himself. Megatron growled. “These are ridiculous.” With that, he started ripping Thundercracker's tights, snapping their owner out of his state of shock. “Get off of me!” He cried out, twisting in Megatron's grip.

A loud crash resonated through the room, shaking the glass of the windows, making all three of them flinch. An unrecognizable yell that sounded like a battle cry came from outside. Then, a cloud of purple smoke appeared out of nowhere and a familiar voice yelled: “Let him go, you creep!”

"... Skywarp?" Thundercracker, the first to recognize the voice, muttered in disbelief, a tinge of hope in his voice. The smoke dissolved slowly, revealing Skywarp in his military uniform. He looked thoroughly slagged off. He snarled at Megatron. “Get off of him or you'll regret it.” Megatron seemed to quickly recover from the shock, as he swiftly jerked Thundercracker up and around, placing both his hands on his captive's head. “Move and I'll break his neck.” He threatened.

It all happened very fast. One moment, Skywarp was standing several yards away from them. The next, he materialized in another cloud of purple smoke right in front of Megatron, punching him square in the already broken nose, before the cloud had even fully appeared, pure murder in his eyes. Megatron howled in pain, crumbling to the floor.

“For that you'd have to be faster than a teleporter.” Skywarp snarled. “Also, some advise, one old friend to another? Stay down, or I'll make it worse.” With one hand on his ear, he murmured “Skywarp to Scarlett. Perimeter secured. Send backup to detain suspect. And send Doc as well. We have injured civilians.” After a moment, he added a quiet “Thank you.” and sighed in relief.

“Warp... how did you get here, what just happened?” Thundercracker asked, confusion and relief palpable in his voice. Skywarp grinned up at him. “Isn't it the coolest?! I'll explain later, okay? I have to hold the line until backup is here.” He turned to Starscream. “Star, I'm sorry. I'll get those off of you in a moment, but we need this documented for court.” The smallest of them nodded mutely, tear tracks on his cheeks still wet.

TC's knees buckled suddenly and he sank to the floor. Skywarp turned to him, worried. “Are you okay? Are you dizzy?” TC shook his head. “No no, it's okay. Just the adrenaline slowly stop-”

In that moment, split-second Skywarp was not fully focused, Megatron _bolted_ towards Starscream, gripping both him and the corner of the table he was chained to, and with a loud crash and a cry from Starscream, had flipped the table 270°, hiding between it and the walls it was now pressed against.

Megatron's knee was on Starscream's chest. He could hardly breathe from the pressure, let alone speak. “Starscream!” Thundercracker's voice sounded panicked. “What are you DOING?!” He heard Skywarp yell from behind the table. “Did you not listen to me? Backup is on its way. You lost. Let him go!”

“I don't think so!” Megatron bellowed. His nose was spraying blood everywhere now and all Starscream could do to shield himself from it was close his eyes. Suddenly, the weight on his chest disappeared. Before he could take a single full breath however, a hand closed itself around his throat, yanking him up by it so his trinemates could see him from behind the table. “Try your little trick again if you dare, Skywarp! See if it works twice.”

__  
  
TC could tell that Skywarp was panicking. He heard several footsteps coming up the stairs from the lobby, and Skywarp shook his head. “Skywarp to Joes!” He yelled, and the footsteps halted. “Do _not_ approach. I messed up securing the perimeter.” Megatron laughed. “Doesn't really work when there is no space to teleport to, huh?” Starscream made a choking sound in his grip.

Skywarp grit his teeth. “What do you want?” He spat. “For you to call off your little team and let me leave.” Megatron told him solemnly. Skywarp started shaking. “First you hurt my trinemates,” he said, touching his hand to TC's side, “then you want me to let you get away with it?”

Thundercracker did not hear the rest of the conversation. He felt extremely strange all of a sudden. The feeling was spreading throughout his body from where Skywarp had touched him. It was like he sometimes felt when he was angry, like electricity, energy seemed palpable around him, making the air sizzle. He looked over at Skywarp, searching his gaze, an explanation. Skywarp glanced at him and mouthed “trust me”.

That calmed him down considerably. This was a plan. They had a plan!

Trying to focus on the feeling, he realized it felt like something was filling him, something that had to be unleashed, that he could _chose_ to unleash. He could feel his fingertips prickling with the energy and suddenly, he felt that he knew what he had to do.

“Careful.” Was all he could say before he directed that energy at Megatron and willed it too spill over.

A massive sonic boom shook the building, breaking every window on the floor they where on and throwing Megatron, who was still choking Starscream, to the ground.

“NICE!” Skywarp exclaimed, teleporting right next to the table. Climbing over it, he quickly grabbed Starscream and teleported again, this time appearing next to TC, who had sunken back to the floor with an incredulous laugh.

With an unconscious Starscream in his arms, now free of the cuffs, Skywarp called out another order. “Skywarp to all Joes! Approach! Backup still required, and perimeter actually secured this time!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading, I'd love to know your thoughts on this.
> 
> I hope everything made sense, I'm terrible at fitting descriptions into stories.
> 
> The next chapter will have the comfort to all this hurt and also exposition as to what the hell just happened.


	11. trying to avoid the truth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There has been more going on than the trine bargained for.
> 
>  
> 
> (I rewrote some minor parts in the last chapter. Also the G.I. Joe medic on duty was changed from Lifeline to Doc.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a long one,  
> but if you were wondering what even happened at the end of the last chapter,  
> Skywarp will happily explain in this one.
> 
> Hope it's enjoyable to read despite all the exposition.  
> We're almost at the end.
> 
> Thank you for sticking around!!

He could vaguely make out a conversation, hear the words, but at that moment, he did not know what they meant.

“... irresponsible … civilians … perimeter ...”

His head laid on something soft and he was surrounded by a familiar scent, though something was off about it. He could vaguely feel his brows furrowing at it all. If only that conversation would stop.

“-arscream. Hey. Can you hear me?”

That voice was also familiar. But something told him the person it belonged to was supposed to be mad at him. Why did they sound worried now?

He slowly opened his eyes and came face-to-face with the owner of the voice, Thundercracker. Starscream realized that he was laying down with his head in TC's lap. Said Seeker stared at him for a split-second before smiling, relieved.

“Hey.” He greeted him gently. “I'm so glad you're awake. Doc said it wouldn't take you long to wake up but you know me.” He looked away for a moment, his voice getting quieter. “I was worried sick. How are you feeling?”

“My face hurts.” Starscream replied flatly and a moment later, his hand shot to his throat. “Speaking hurts.” He whispered, sounding somehow more raw than he did when he spoke normally. Thundercracker nodded sadly at both statements before he took the hand on Starscream's throat in both of his. “Don't touch that just yet, I want Doc to have a look first.”

Starscream had no idea who this Doc was, but he did not feel like asking at the moment, so he just nodded and they fell into silence. He noticed that TC still had to let go of his hand. Feeling a blush consuming his face, he tried to hide it by looking around. They were on one of the couches at the office, several people in military uniforms bustling about around them.

… the office?

He looked back up at Thundercracker to ask him about it when he suddenly noticed the large bruise on the side of his face. With a surge, he remembered. Why he was here, why he was in this condition, why there was military here, why TC was injured. It was all his fault. Then, he remembered what Megatron had said, had revealed to the other and he felt his blood run cold.

Tears sprang to his eyes. “T-thunder...” He whimpered. That immediately got his trinemate's attention. “Star? Is the pain that bad, do you want me to get you someone?”

Shaking his head, he tried to gather his words. “No, I... Thunder, I... I'm so sorry.”

Understanding seemed to flash in TC's eyes and he immediately shook his head, gently wiping away Starscream's tears. “Calm down, Star. It's fine. It's okay.” Leaning down to press a quick kiss to his forehead, he murmured. “Don't worry about it. We can do that once we are out of here. For now, there are still a few things we need to do. And then I'll tell you again that none of this is your fault.”

Starscream nodded slowly despite the fact that TC had either misunderstood or purposefully misinterpreted what he meant (at least part of it). The calming presence of his trinemate did manage to stop his tears though. And Thundercracker was not wrong.

So instead of apologizing again he asked: “Where is Skywarp?”

Thundercracker actually smiled at that question. “Over there, getting lectured by his boss while Doc checks up on him. He's in trouble, but I don't think she's actually mad at him.”

Starscream sat up a little so he could look in the direction Thundercracker had motioned towards. Skywarp seemed to be in a heated discussion with a red-haired woman, while a shorter woman with dreads and glasses was working on a device he was hooked up to. As Starscream tried to listen, he realized that had been the conversation he had been hearing earlier.

“I can't believe you!” The red head exclaimed, sounding exasperated. “It's bad enough that you didn't secure the perimeter correctly-” “For the third time this week.” The shorter woman added dryly, earning her a betrayed look from Skywarp. “But then you gave a civilian our secret tech?! Our _experimental_ secret tech? What were you thinking?!”

“Okay, Scarlett, look!” Skywarp said defensively, and the tone he said it in told Starscream that he was repeating himself. “The perimeter thing? Totally my fault. That one's on me. Again. But you have to admit I had no other choice here! And TC is basically family. So technically an honorary Joe, right?”

“No! That's not how that works! That's not how that ever worked!” Scarlett took a deep breath. Much calmer, she continued. “Look. You disobeyed my orders already when you used your warp-drive four times. Two times more than we had clearance for. So that's already a load of paperwork for me-”

Skywarp crossed his arms. “You don't know that I did that. I haven't even written my report yet.”

The smaller woman, Doc, Starscream realized, piped up. “Skywarp, I am remotely hooked up to your vitals while you use our tech. I get notified when you warp.” Skywarp's eyes widened before he stage-whispered: “I mean, okay, but you could just be cool about it instead of snitching?”

Scarlett looked like she was trying very hard not to laugh.

Doc patted Skywarp's knee and shook her head. “No can do, sorry. Besides, what Scarlett hasn't even mentioned yet is that it took a toll on you. Nothing too bad, since you've been getting used to the teleporting, but it could have had serious effects on Thundercracker.”

Skywarp shook his head. “I knew he could easily handle it.” Scarlett shook her head in response, more firmly than Skywarp had. “He was injured. And you didn't even know what his outlier ability would be.”

The purple-clad seeker at least had the decency to look sheepish. “But it all worked out?” He tried and Scarlett pinched the bridge of her nose, sighing.

“Sure.” She allowed. “But you're still doing the paperwork. For the warping without clearance and for involving a civilian. No buts!” She said firmly as Skywarp opened his mouth again. “I know you hate it, but so do I. Take it as an excursion out of your comfort zone.”

Skywarp deflated a little, and did a salute that could not have been more sad if he tried. “Yes, ma'am.” Scarlett nodded and returned the salute, before patting Skywarp's arm. “On a personal note: Good job today, soldier. I know you were defending your family and that easily clouds our judgment. I'll keep it in mind when I write my report.”

Skywarp beamed at her. “Thank you, ma'am.”

Scarlett smiled back. “I'll go oversee the investigation. You two know your jobs. I'll be back in a bit.” With that, she joined two other people in the room TC and Starscream had been locked in.

Skywarp sighed as Doc disconnected him from her devise and handed him several protein bars. “You should be okay, but your sugar levels are dangerously low. Eat these.” “Thanks.” He replied, sounding worn and immediately munched down on two, making Doc shake her head fondly.

The two of them started walking towards Starscream and Thundercracker. When her eyes landed on Starscream, she furrowed her brows. “Didn't I tell you to call me when he wakes up?” Starscream looked up at Thundercracker, just in time to see his guilty expression. “Probably?” He tried. “It honestly slipped my mind, I was so relieved when he woke up.”

“I mean, I get it, but I also told you he'd wake up in a bit and that he just needed some superficial treatment.” Doc sighed as she kneeled down in front of Starscream, who, with Thundercracker's help, slowly sat up on the couch.

“Don't be mean to TC.” Skywarp said through a mouthful of protein bar. “He worries all the time. It's his thing.” Thundercracker looked a little offended at that. “I mean, maybe.” He allowed. “Even though I'd like to think being a screenwriter is my thing.”

Doc sighed as she applied a gel to Starscream's formerly cuffed wrist that instantly soothed the pain and stopped some of the scrapes from bleeding. “So, are you the brains of this bunch, then?” She asked him as TC and Skywarp bickered. Starscream laughed a little and was surprised that it didn't feel terrible. “I always liked to think that, yes.” He replied.

She looked up at him in surprise from where she had applied a sterile pad to his wrist. “Can I see your throat?” She asked and Starscream nodded hesitantly. “You should probably know that my voice is always like this. Though it's a little rougher right now than usual.” He told her and she nodded briskly. “Still, you have large bruises around the area. I'll see if anything else is damaged.”

After she applied more of her gel to his throat, cheek and other wrist, she hooked him up to the same device Skywarp had been connected to earlier. “I'll check your vitals and see if being teleported and hit by that sonic blast has damaged anything I missed when you were unconscious.”

“Oh yeah, I've been meaning to ask about that.” Starscream said conversationally, before turning to Skywarp, who was sitting on the floor, using TC's legs as a back rest. “What in the PIT was that all about?!” All four of them flinched when Starscream raised his voice, Starscream in pain, the others in shock.

Skywarp recovered quickly. “It's so cool, right?? Doc and I developed it together.” “What is 'it'?” Starscream interrupted him before he could keep gushing and Skywarp reached for TC's side, ripping something from his jacket. “This!” He held it up for his trinemates to see. In the palm of his hand, he held something that looked like a tiny, polished chrome button. “It's a devise that lets you... ugh, how do I put this?”

While he thought for a moment, Doc finished up Starscream's bandages and pushed Skywarp aside from his place in front of TC so she could work on his injuries. As she started applying pain-numbing gel to his face and knuckles, Skywarp seemed to find his words.

“Okay so basically, some people have the potential to use special abilities. This lets you channel the energy you need to use them.” Starscream stared at him, disbelievingly. “The potential?” He asked, and Skywarp nodded.

“I don't know how else to describe it. My theory is that the molecules of some people used to be part of something that used to have that ability, but our human forms aren't actually made to use them. They lack the energy source needed to activate them. That's where this device comes in.” He handed it to Starscream, who inspected it carefully. “So... kind of like shape-memory polymers? Is that why you're so fast?”

“Yeah, exactly! My molecules try to mimic what they used to be able to do. It's why I get so impatient, too.” TC perked up from where Doc was inspecting his shoulder. “How did you know I had that kind of potential?”

Skywarp shrugged. “I just did. You resonated with me if that makes sense? But I noticed that yours only shows when you get angry and protective. Which is when I realized that mine only works when I'm in a good mood or looking forward to something.”

“Which is why he constantly looks for sources of entertainment. You seem more stable in that regard.” Doc joined the explanation. TC shrugged, and then winced as it moved his injured shoulder. “I guess my molecules don't need the sonic booms as much as Skywarp's need their change of location.”

Starscream handed Skywarp the device back. “I forgot that you can actually be smart if you try.” He teased, and Skywarp stuck out his tongue at him. Snorting, he thought for a moment. “So it's not something that can be learned?” Skywarp shook his head. “Not if my theory is correct. And before you ask, I never felt any of that resonance from you, Star. Sorry.” He grinned at him, and Starscream crossed his arms, huffing. “I wasn't going to ask that!”

Skywarp actually guffawed at that. “You so were, though!”

Starscream's face almost rivaled the color of his jacket. “You don't know that! Stop laughing!”

TC giggled at their antics. “If it makes you feel any better, Star, I don't even know what Warp means with that resonance. So maybe neither of us have noticed your potential.”

Doc finished up treating TC. “You have a pretty bad contusion in your shoulder, but the shoulder blade isn't broken like I originally thought. It's painful, but not dangerous. Take it easy for a few weeks and take painkillers if it gets really bad.”

TC sighed. “I will. Thank you.” Doc smiled at him. “Hey, no problem. You guys were pretty lucky, all things considered.” She stood up, stretching for a moment. “Scarlett will probably be back in a few minutes. She still needs your testimonies.”

TC and Starscream nodded. Skywarp got up as well. “I'll see what else I can do. I am technically at work.” He explained. Doc shook her head. “Nah, I'm pretty sure you're supposed to stay here and take care of the people who were taken hostage.”

Skywarp looked hopeful. “You think that's okay?” Doc laughed. “If it isn't, feel free to blame it on me.” With that, she gathered her supplies and with a wave, disappeared into the room Scarlett had entered earlier.

“Hey, Skywarp...” Starscream began, unsure if he wanted the answer to what he was about to ask. “What is it, Star?” Skywarp asked as he sat back down on the floor in front of the couch. Hesitating for a moment, the smallest of them finally asked. “Where... where is he?”

Skywarp's eyes hardened. “We arrested him. He's being taken to headquarters as we speak. The police let him get away before, but we won't let that happen. Not this time.” Their eyes met. “You're safe, Star. I promise.” Skywarp had never sounded more sincere in his life, his voice laced with much more than just determination. For a moment, Starscream wondered if he only imagined the pain he thought he heard in Skywarp's voice.

"Okay." He muttered, unsure how to address Skywarp's tone. A hand squeezed his shoulder reassuringly, and as he turned, he realized it was TC's. He gave him what he hoped was a grateful smile and TC gave him one in return. After a moment, TC pulled his hand back and sighed. "I want to go home."

"UGH! Me too." Skywarp exclaimed, dramatically burrowing his face in the couch. "I'm hungry." Came a muffled complaint. TC patted his head in sympathy.

Starscream said nothing. He was tired, but right now the other two managed to distract him enough from the events of the day that he did not have to think about them too hard. He knew it would all come rushing back to him once he was trying to sleep. He shuddered. He did not need the night terrors he was sure would come.

Suddenly, a bark sounded through the room. TC perked up. "Buster?"

A small dog shot up the stairs, making a beeline for the couch they were sitting on.  
"Buster!!" TC cried as the dog jumped into his lap. As she licked his face, TC wrapped his arms around her and silently started crying.

Starscream visibly flinched at seeing Thundercracker cry and Skywarp immediately sat up. "TC? Are you okay?” Thundercracker nodded, trying to wipe his eyes with his sleeves. The tears did not stop. “Yeah... yeah, I'm okay. Sorry, I don't know what's happening.”

“Don't apologize. It's been a long day.” Skywarp said, standing up and squeezing between Starscream and Thundercracker so he could wrap his arms around the latter. They stayed like that for a moment, Starscream awkwardly sitting next to them, until Buster gave a quiet whine.

Both of them immediately let go. “Sorry, Buster.” Skywarp muttered, offering her an apologetic head scratch she happily accepted. “It's been a while since she last met you.” TC whispered, his tears finally stopping.

Starscream watched Buster lick Skywarp's hand for a moment before finally piping up. “Whose dog is this?”

“Star!” TC suddenly exclaimed. “You don't know Buster?” Starscream slowly shook his head. Gathering Buster in his arms, TC got up and knelt down in front of Starscream. “Buster! This is Starscream. He sounds mean sometimes but he's your friend. Say hello!”

On command, Buster extended her paw to Starscream, who stared at her and his trinemate with some disbelief, obviously flustered. When he did not take the paw offered to him, Skywarp immediately reacted with indignation. “Come on, Star, don't leave her hanging! Shake her paw!”

“Uhm... right.” Carefully taking the offered appendage in his hand, he shook it a little. “Hello, Buster?” Buster gave a little bark before giving Starscream's hand a timid lick. Thundercracker was beaming. “Isn't she the cutest?” He pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “Would you like to hold her?”

Starscream's face flushed. “Oh, I don't know... uh... you could let her sit next to me though?” Skywarp watched as TC set Buster onto the couch, where she curled up next to Starscream, pressing against him. “Not good with dogs?” He asked as Starscream carefully petted her back. “I'm just not used to them.” He answered, sounding a little piqued. TC and Skywarp just laughed.

“She's technically my dog, actually.” TC revealed and Starscream's eyes widened a little in surprise. “I can't believe I never told you about her. At the moment, Marissa takes care of her for me though. At least until we can get our landlord to allow her in our apartment.”

Marissa chose that moment to come up the stairs as well. “It's not like she's any trouble. Except when she decides to run off because she smells you in the building.” TC smiled as his friend came over to them. “Hey, Marissa.” They hugged briefly, Marissa obviously very careful with how she was touching him. “Hey TC.”

She gave a little wave to the other two. “Hey Skywarp.” Skywarp gave her a grin and a salute. “Ma'am.” At her raised eyebrow, he put up his hands in defense. “I'm technically on duty right now. Don't want Flint mad at me because I didn't address his daughter in a respectful way.”

Both of them laughed as TC smiled along with them. Starscream could not help but feel left out.

“You must be Starscream, then. I'm Marissa.” She held out her hand and he took it. “Ah, yes, I've heard of you. You're Thunder's editor.” She smiled at him and he found himself returning it. “Not to sound rude, but what are you doing here?”

“I work with G.I. Joe. It's kind of a long story.”

“Not really.” Scarlett was walking over to them, coming to a halt next to Marissa. “The gist of it is that Marissa works with another organization close to us. She's here to handle a lot of the legal issues that come with taking the police's work from them.” Marissa shrugged. “That's one way of putting it.”

Scarlett smiled. “Another way would be that you're basically an honorary Joe.” The look of outrage on Skywarp's face was not lost on anyone. Marissa looked very unimpressed with the idea.

“Thanks Scarlett, but no. I'm happy with my own job.” With a sigh, she turned to TC again. “I'll leave Buster with you. If you get to leave before I do, just send her to me.” Before TC could respond however, Scarlett shook her head. “I'm going to need you here for a moment, Marissa.” Turning to the Seekers on the couch, she explained. “I'll let you leave soon, don't worry. I came back over to listen to your testimonies. Marissa, can you document and verify them with me?”

Marissa nodded.

  
  


__

  
  


Starscream and Thundercracker each took turns retelling the events of the past few hours. Starscream gave an almost too clinical, to the point description of it all. When he got to the point where Megatron had dragged him away from Thundercracker, the latter could do nothing but clench his hands in his lap, shaking with rage at the memory, until Buster laid her head on his lap, calming him somewhat.

At the end of Starscream's retelling, Thundercracker gave his own, which was more somber than Starscream's had been, the anger and pain still obvious in his voice and posture. Marissa, obviously shaken, reached out once to squeeze his hand.

Skywarp was uncharacteristically quiet throughout the whole procedure.

Afterwards, Doc took each of them to the bathrooms to document their injuries with pictures and descriptions.

Scarlett nodded when Thundercracker returned, still in the process of putting his jacket back on. Turning to Starscream, she said. “I need some more testimony from you regarding this company. If you want, the others can leave.”

Starscream seemed overwhelmed by the idea for a moment, but quickly caught himself. “No... no, they can stay.” TC turned to him and carefully took his hand. “Star, are you sure? It's fine, we can wait for you.” “No, I... I want you here.” Starscream forced out and Thundercracker seemed at a loss for words before quietly replying. “Okay.”

Nodding, Scarlett produced a couple of documents which Starscream recognized from the archives of the company. “Someone leaked information on this company's illegal dealings to the press. We spent all day investigating those rumors and they turned out to be true. The CEO has been selling explosive substances to a terrorist organization G.I. Joe is... let's say familiar with.”

It took Starscream a moment to reply. When he did, there was a tremor in his voice. “But... but I'm co-CEO of this company. Did he sell those in my name?” Scarlett looked over the documents, her brows furrowing. “You're... you're not. Megatron doesn't have a co-CEO. You're listed as an employee. That's why the blame for the illegal transactions isn't on you.”

The silence that followed seemed to engulf the room. As the words reached Starscream's mind, he suddenly felt too hot and too cold at the same time. Next to him, he could see Thundercracker exchange a shocked look with Skywarp. His hands started to shake.

“What do you mean?” He asked, quietly, his voice shaking. “I... I co-funded this company. I own half of it. He never bought my part of the company from me. I- I should be able to prove it. Since when?”

Scarlett checked the documents again. After a moment, Marissa, also with documents in hand, piped up. “Found it. Around half a year ago, complete ownership of the company was transferred to Megatron. You've been listed as an employee ever since.”

“I... t-that's impossible. He didn't... I thought he was trying to belittle me when he called me that...” Starscream's eyes were wide and unfocused. His vision blurred. To his side, he could hear Thundercracker's voice. “But wouldn't Star have to... sign the company over in some way?”

“He did.” That was Scarlett's voice. “The form is right here. Is this not your signature?”

Starscream forced himself to look up at the paper she was holding out for him to see, blinking, trying to focus his eyes. His own signature stood out to him at the bottom of the page. Shakily, he took it from her hand, reading it through. It was exactly what she said it was.

“This... yes, but I... I don't remember ever signing this. I've never even seen this before.”

His vision blurred again and this time, he felt a hand on each of his shoulders. Looking up, he realized that Skywarp and Thundercracker had flanked him where he sat, sitting down next to him.

“Marissa,” TC spoke, and despite sounding calm there was a clear edge in his voice. “if this signature is forged, is there a way to prove that it is?”

“Yes, absolutely.” Marissa replied, and the confidence in her voice made some of the tension drain from Starscream. Scarlett spoke up as well. “If you say you didn't sign this we'll investigate the matter. We'll also check how legally binding a contract like this would be. If he's been treating you as an employee, I'm assuming you didn't get a CEO's salary?”

“I... no, I didn't. The numbers he showed me didn't really leave a lot of money to put towards my own salary.” His voice dropped considerably in volume. “I've been struggling to make ends meet for months.”

Marissa stepped closer to him and put a hand on his arm. “I promise, I'll do everything I can to make him pay.” Starscream could only nod.

Scarlett gathered up the papers and handed them to Marissa. “That would be all from me, then.” She said. “Like I said, we'll be in touch. And Starscream?”

He looked up at her and she gave him the most genuine smile he had seen on her all day. “Don't worry about it. Justice will prevail.”

  
  


__

  
  


Exhaustion was wearing him down as Starscream half-listened to Thundercracker asking Marissa to take his car back home for him as he did not feel up to driving for the rest of the day. Around him, people were saying good-bye to each other. It was close to 10PM.

Skywarp spoke up for the first time in what felt like it had been way too long. Idly, Starscream wondered if he had ever been in the same room as his buff trinemate for so long without hearing him talk.

“Ma'am... I know I'm on duty until tomorrow morning. But...” He took a deep breath, before standing up straight. “Ma'am, I'm requesting the rest of the day off.”

Scarlett shook her head. “No, Skywarp.” Skywarp's face fell. “But I-” He began, but Scarlett interrupted him. “I'm giving you the rest of today as well as the next two days off. Despite everything, you more than earned it today.” Skywarp looked ready to cry. “Thank you so much.” He breathed and the red-head shook her head. “Don't mention it. Call me if you need more.”

Suddenly, Skywarp had his arms around her in a hug. “You're honestly the best sarge ever.” He sobbed and Scarlett, obviously flustered, patted his shoulder a little, but did not return the hug. “Skywarp, we are on _duty_.” She hissed, and Skywarp immediately let her go. “Right. Sorry.”

Thundercracker gathered Buster, who had sat or laid down by his side ever since the questioning had started, in his arms. “I love you, girl.” He told her, pressing a kiss to the side of her snout. Buster returned the gesture, licking his nose. TC laughed a little. “I'll see you soon, Buster. Take care of Marissa.” He lowered her a little so she was on eye-level with Starscream. “Say bye, Buster.”

Buster pressed her nose against Starscream's cheek for a second in a gentle dog-kiss. Carefully, Starscream petted her head a little and she gave a quiet bark in appreciation.

After Skywarp had said good-bye to Buster, Marissa took her from TC and gave her good-byes to the three of them, hugging TC and shaking the other two's hands. Starscream was sure Scarlett and Doc had also said their good-byes as the three of them took their leave but he could not remember.

The drive to the building they all lived in was a blurr, but he vaguely remembered Skywarp bickering a little with the driver that had been assigned as their escort home by Scarlett herself.

As he walked up the stairs behind Skywarp and Thundercracker, dread overcame him. This was where they would part ways and he would be alone with his thoughts and memories. Maybe if he drank enough he'd be able to pass out? At least for tonight.

“Star? Are you coming?”

They were looking at him, uncertain, but expectantly, behind them the already unlocked door to their apartment.

He did not answer. Instead, he quietly walked past them, entering their apartment. Both followed him, and Skywarp pulled the door shut behind them.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading!!
> 
> Let me know what you think, comments really keep me going. :')  
> (Kudos too usually but this fic is at 69 rn so y'know.)
> 
> Edit: nvm then, thank you for all and any kudos!!


	12. coming home again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some emotions are hard to work through.  
> Skywarp is surprisingly good at keeping it together, though.  
> #showerthoughts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm guessing one or two more chapters after this one.
> 
> Thanks for sticking around through the last few chapters, everyone!  
> The comfort starts here. :')

Skywarp ushered all of them into the bigger of the two bathrooms before either of the other two could say anything. Starscream did not know what was happening, but TC somehow understood without any words being spoken. He started undressing and Skywarp silently started a methodical check of his body as TC's clothes came off, lingering on any bruises and wounds he found.

Under other circumstances, Starscream would probably have avoided looking, and while his face still flushed a little, the trust and intimacy displayed by his trinemates touched something in him. He watched as Skywarp finished looking the now nude Thundercracker over and the two of them touched their foreheads together.

“I hate that he marked you.” Skywarp whispered shakily and Thundercracker smiled sadly. “He could never mark me in a permanent way. Not like you have.” Skywarp looked up at the tallest of them. “I know. I still wish he hadn't.” He said, his tone unchanged. Then, he turned to Starscream. “You don't have to if you don't want to, but will you let me see you?”

Starscream hesitated. The night before came to his mind, when he had repeatedly made sure that Skywarp did not see him without clothes, despite being willing to shower with him in the same room. At the same time, he was aware that this was not a sexual situation. Skywarp wanted to see for himself if they were okay, if Megatron had damaged anything. This was his way of worrying. And he would not force it on him if he did not want to bare himself to him after today.

He swallowed. “Will you let me see you as well?” Skywarp nodded with a small smile. “You've already seen me yesterday but I'll be happy to let it happen again on your terms.” Starscream's blush intensified at the memory. “That doesn't count.” He muttered, but started taking off his clothes as Skywarp did the same.

Behind them, the shower turned on as TC started adjusting the temperature.

When they were both naked, Skywarp approached him carefully. Starscream was still blushing, but it was gradually becoming better as Skywarp methodically checked his body as well, though while touching him less than he had Thundercracker. He lingered on a bruise forming on Starscream's chest where Megatron had knelt on him.

“Did Doc say anything about this one?” He asked quietly and Starscream thought for a moment. “She documented it and told me he didn't damage any bones so it looks worse than it is.” Skywarp nodded, but the pain in his eyes did not disappear.

“Both of you still smell like him.”

TC approached them and held out his hands. “Then let's get rid of this stench. I'll wash your backs for you if you want.” They each took one of his offered hands and let TC lead them under the spray of the shower.

The shower cubicle was crowded once they were all inside, but they managed. Skywarp gingerly washed Starscream's back for him while TC checked Skywarp for any injuries. “You have bruises all over.” He muttered after a while, and their buff trinemate laughed a humorless laugh. “Those are all from training. I think the only injury I actually got on duty today are my scraped-up knuckles from where I punched Megs in the nose.”

Starscream turned his head to see Skywarp presenting them with his hand. TC snorted a little before holding his own up next to it. “I got a similar one and one on my elbow from when I broke his nose.” Skywarp laughed a real laugh at that. “Look at us, doing everything together.” He gently took TC's hand in his and pressed a careful kiss to his fingertips. “I wasn't sure which one of you did that little number on his face, but I was so proud.”

Starscream said nothing as he recalled his own failed attempt to defend himself by hitting Megatron in the nose, how easily his hand had been caught, how Megatron had used it as a reason to drag Thundercracker into the whole ordeal as well. He did not even notice as tears mixed with the water from the shower.

Skywarp's hand on his back stopped moving. “Star?” He asked gently and Starscream snapped back to the situation he was currently in. Meeting his trinemates' eyes, he realized they were both looking at him with worry. “I'm sorry.” Skywarp said and resumed washing Starscream's back with both hands. “I won't talk about it anymore.”

Shaking his head a little, Starscream rasped. “It's fine. If you need to talk about it you shouldn't hold back.” Instead of responding, Skywarp gently guided Starscream under the spray of the shower to wash away the foam and suds he had lathered. “I try to laugh at things to make them less scary, to deal with them. But that's my approach. If that doesn't work for you, that's okay.” Starscream did not know how to reply to that, so he just nodded.

They took turns washing each other's backs and hair before each Seeker washed the rest of his own body. When Skywarp stepped out of the shower he quickly gathered enough towels for all of them and pressed them into the arms of the other two. “I'll be right back.” He announced as they dried themselves off. When they finally stepped out of the shower themselves, they noticed Skywarp had taken their clothes from the day with him.

He returned shortly after, already dressed again in a purple set of short satin pajamas. Handing both of them a set of clothes each, Skywarp sat down on the floor as they got dressed. Starscream noticed how soft the clothes he had picked out for them were, and allowed himself to enjoy the feeling of the light-blue, silky nightshirt against his skin for a brief moment. Once they were all dressed again, they went to the living room, where they collapsed on the couch.

Dread returned to Starscream as he realized they would soon all go to bed, which would mean leaving him alone with his thoughts. He shuddered a little, trying to think of a way to keep them up longer. He would just have to stall a little. Maybe if he exhausted himself into sleep he would not have to deal with the invasive memories of the day.

At the same time, he was also painfully aware that he should not keep them up for such selfish reasons. They had already gone through so much that day. In the end, he could not help himself. He took a deep breath.

“Aren't you hungry, Sky?”

Skywarp looked at him and thought for a moment. “I am, but I don't really feel like eating.” He said, his tone tired and defeated. TC nodded. “Same here honestly.”

Starscream hesitated before replying. “Maybe we should still try to eat something, y'know, it's not good to skip dinner. And we'll probably get our appetite back once we started.” He got up before anyone could object and started walking towards the kitchen. “I'll make us a few sandwiches or something.”

He missed the look TC and Skywarp exchanged behind his back completely.

Shortly after he had started busying himself in the kitchen, TC walked in, worry written all over his face. “Star?”

Starscream looked up from where he had been picking out ingredients from their fridge. “Yes?” Thundercracker regarded him for a moment before sighing. “Nothing. I'll help you. We'll be quicker that way.”

Starscream felt a pang in his stomach at that. “N-no, no, don't worry. I got this.” But TC had already pulled some bread from one of the cupboards and was starting to toast it. Starscream watched him arrange plates on a tray with practiced ease, until TC came over to him. “See anything you would like?” He asked, motioning at the fridge.

Accepting that he did not manage to buy much time, Starscream shook his head. “I'll have whatever you're having. We usually have similar tastes.” TC tried to meet his eyes for a moment, puzzled, but Starscream was looking at the floor. “That's news to me, but okay.” TC said lightly, pulling some cold cuts from the fridge. “Can you butter the bread for me when it's done?”

“Yes, sure.” As Starscream got started on his newest task, he did not realize TC was watching him. When he almost dropped the knife for the third time, his taller trinemate stepped up to him and carefully took it out of his hand.

“Hey, Star? Let me handle this. You can join Skywarp in the living room, I'll be with you in a sec.” Tears sprang to Starscream's eyes almost immediately, pain, dread and frustration overflowing. “I said I can handle this, Thundercracker. So how about you just let me?!” His voice shifted from anger to teary desperation. He felt pathetic as tears ran down his face.

Instead of rising to the bait and starting one of their usual arguments with him, TC stayed calm, regarding him sadly. “Because I'm worried about you. Because I saw you go through a lot today. Because _I_ went through a lot today.” His voice broke and Starscream realized that TC was crying as well, his voice calm despite it.

“I'm sorry I keep limiting you. I know it's not fair to you but I just... I just worry _so much_.” There it was, his voice breaking into a sob. Starscream could only watch, his own tears blurring his vision. “I hate seeing you in pain or unhappy. I know you're capable of handling yourself, I just want to help. I'm working on not coming off as patronizing, but I know it doesn't always work.”

The knife he had taken from Starscream was dangling at his side, while his other hand came up to wipe at his eyes. The bruises on his elbow and knuckles involuntarily caught Starscream's attention. He started trembling. Those were there because of him. TC was crying now because he had tried to stall for time, for selfish reasons. All he did was hurt them.

A soft 'vop' sounded next to them, and when Skywarp materialized in the kitchen, both of them startled bad enough to almost lose their footing, the knife TC had been holding clattering to the ground. Skywarp immediately stabled them, an arm around each of their waists. He had the decency to at least look a little sheepish. “I can't leave you two alone for even a minute, can I.” He muttered sadly.

Neither of them replied, still shaken from him suddenly appearing, and Skywarp gently guided them to the kitchen table, coaxing them into sitting down. “Let's talk this out tomorrow, okay? We're all tired and hungry.” He poured both of them a glass of water, the plates and glasses from their breakfast still there. “Here. No fighting. I finish these, we eat and then we sleep.”

Starscream could not stop the tears continuing their steady stream down his face as the idea of sleeping combined with the guilt of how badly he had hurt the other two. Skywarp noticed immediately, approaching him carefully. Cupping his face in his hands, he gently wiped away Starscream's tears and pressed a kiss to his forehead.

“It's okay, Star.” He whispered. “There's nothing we can't talk about. We'll all be okay. But right now isn't a good time. We should rest and then come back to this.” Starscream nodded, albeit not believing him, but he also did not want to admit to being afraid of being alone with his thoughts. It was not really something they could help him with, after all.

Skywarp pulled away from him, repeating his gesture for TC. “I can't believe you took the device with you, you big idiot.” TC finally muttered with a small laugh and Skywarp snorted a little. “I honestly forgot all about it and I guess so did they? It's not like they don't have any spares.”

“Yeah, I don't believe you for a second.” TC replied, but his tone was light. “Good.” Skywarp responded, a mischievous glimmer in his eyes.

It took Skywarp almost no time to finish what they started and even clean the kitchen a little while he was at it. They all ate in silence, and while Starscream had no desire to eat at all, he could clearly feel his stomach thanking him for trying. When they were done, he still felt in no way ready to go to bed, though he did feel less jittery.

Skywarp got up, taking both of their hands. “I have one more surprise for you two.” He said as he gently pulled them into the living room. “If you hate it, I can put everything back though.”

For a brief moment, Starscream was not sure what Skywarp was talking about, until his eyes fell upon the space in front of the couch, where their coffee table was usually placed. That table had been pushed aside to make way for what he could only describe as a nest. Every mattress from the apartment had been laid out. Scattered on them were more pillows and blankets than Starscream was sure the other two owned. Spotting a few pillows from his own apartment upstairs proved his suspicions to be true.

Thundercracker was the first of them to speak up. “Did you raid the beds in our rooms?” Skywarp nodded with a bright smile. “Yeah. After today I honestly didn't want either of you to sleep alone, but none of the bedrooms are big enough for that kind of sleepover. I might have gotten carried away, but it's hard not to when going anywhere doesn't take you any time.” His eyes wandered between the other two for a moment, and quietly he asked: “Is that okay for you?”

TC pressed a kiss to his cheek. “Absolutely. For me, I mean.” Skywarp beamed at him. They both turned to Starscream, looking at him expectantly. Starscream had a hard time trying not to cry again. They had not slept in the same bed since their earliest college days, never had once he realized that he had feelings for them. He knew it should not be a big deal to him. They had done this before and he had literally showered with them less than an hour ago. But after what had just happened in the kitchen he somehow felt like they could not trust him, like he did not deserve this.

Before any of those emotions could manifest into any words or actions though, Skywarp's hand was on his shoulder. Starscream met his eyes, his own wide and scared. Scared of consequences, scared of losing them but also scared of being around them. For their sake, he told himself.

“I thought this might help you sleep, Star. If it's too much I understand. But we'd love it if you slept here tonight. With us.” The sincerity and hopefulness of Skywarp's voice and eyes made it hard for him to do anything other than nod, his concerns feeling silly at that moment. “Yes, okay. That's... that's okay.”

Thundercracker insisted on them brushing their teeth before going to bed, which they did, albeit not without Skywarp complaining about it. Afterwards, they huddled together in the nest Skywarp had built. Starscream was unsure where to lie down at first. After finally doing so as far away from them as possible, Skywarp rolled over to him, wrapping his arms around him.

“Sorry, Star, but no.” He told him solemnly, ignoring Starscream's blush and indignant squawk as he rolled back again with him in his arms, making TC giggle a little and placing Starscream between them. “Skywarp, you insolent oaf!” He screeched, making Skywarp laugh. He pressed several little kisses to Starscream's face, making his blush even worse and rendering his complaints incoherent.

TC scooted closer to them, bringing three blankets with him, sitting up to spread them over his trinemates while Skywarp mock-wrestled Starscream into cuddling with him. “You know you love me for it!” Skywarp exclaimed, making TC halt in his movements and Starscream grab the first blanket he could reach to bury his face in it.

“Shut up!” Came the muffled retort and he turned in Skywarp's arms so he had his back to his buff trinemate, but made no move to get away from him in any way.

TC swallowed. He had not had the chance to tell Skywarp about what Megatron had revealed to him yet, much less to talk about it with Starscream. As he watched Skywarp pull Starscream, who still hid his face in a blanket, closer to him to whisper “Now we're spooning.” to him and grin as the tips of Starscream's visible ears turned an even darker shade of red, he could not help but think that for once, that could wait until morning.

He leaned down and, unseen by Starscream, pressed a chaste kiss to Skywarp's lips, who smiled up at him sleepily. Cuddling closer to Starscream's front, he carefully pulled the blanket aside a little to place a kiss on Starscream's forehead, before laying down properly, with Starscream's face somewhere at his collar bones so they would not breathe into each other's faces.

Over the crown of the smallest Seeker's head, he caught Skywarp's eye, who gave him one last exhausted smile, reaching across Starscream to hold TC's hand for a moment. Then, his eyes closed and TC decided to imitate his partner. He vaguely registered Starscream's arms wrapping around his middle before he drifted off.

As Starscream held onto TC, one of Skywarp's hands at his shoulder, he realized that sandwiched between them, surrounded by their scent, there was no room in his head for any invasive memories and so, exhaustion quickly sent him into a calm sleep.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My friend and I have this ongoing joke of sending each other chapters of ffs that end with everyone falling asleep even if it doesn't fit the narrative.  
> I tried super extra hard to avoid that so far, but is it really a fanfiction if not at least one of your chapters ends like that?
> 
> As always, let me know what you think, feedback really keeps me going.  
> And don't worry.  
> We'll get there. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)


	13. introspection

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Starscream tries to come to terms with his own emotions.
> 
> Unfortunately, he's not really good at it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See chapters 4-7 for context for some of this.
> 
> Also I've been tweaking/ rewriting the earliest chapters.  
> When the story escalated the way it did, rereading the first chapters made my complete lack of a plan painfully obvious.  
> But I'm trying to fix that now.
> 
> As always, comments and kudos really keep me going and I hope you enjoy!!  
> Thank you for reading. :')
> 
> HUGE shout-out to my friend Dani for making sure I didn't completely mess up the tenses here! <3

His eyes opened slowly, blinking, unseeing for a moment. It had to be the middle of the night. He was still exhausted and no light came from the windows, except for the soft glow of the moon. He could faintly feel butterflies in his stomach as he recognized the familiar warmth of his trinemates around him, but he did not know where he was.

Looking around as much as he could without disturbing either of them, he realized he was in their living room and slowly, he remembered why. Swallowing, Starscream sat up ever so slightly to look at them. They were both still asleep.

And so close.

Skywarp was practically spooning him, their legs slightly entangled, he realized, while TC, his face inches from his own, clasped him with one of his arms, his hand holding Skywarp's somewhere at Starscream's waist. With a start, he realized one of his own hands was at TC's waist.

Overwhelmed by his body's reaction to their proximity and how his mind seemed to short-circuit, he very carefully laid down again as to not wake them, unable to do much more at the moment. Hugging his pillow to himself, he pressed his face into it and took a deep breath.

He hated how weird he was being about all of this. It was not even a big deal to them, this was their way of comforting him and here he was, overreacting to a gesture they did not even think about twice.

He sighed. Their casual affection and closeness with him and each other had always overwhelmed and confused him, especially Skywarp's. Even on the day they had met he had already shoved Starscream face-first into his chest and cleavage. Who does that?!

Had he been attracted to them on first sight? Absolutely, he was not blind. And back then he had been sure that was all there was to it. Physical attraction. Skywarp being as touchy-feely as he was made dealing with it a little harder, but nothing he could not handle.

Relationships of any nature had never lasted long for Starscream. People did not want to be friends with him. Some tried, obviously due to his looks, but he had scared all of them off.

He did not want friends.

He did not _need_ friends.

He certainly never had the intention of actually getting close to these two. They were supposed to keep the terror twins off of him. He had guessed they would eventually get tired of him and stop talking to him. Or he would get tired of them and decide to scare them off, whichever came first. They just needed to buy him some time so he could get a new room assigned.

Maybe the thought of not spending every evening by himself was nice. But he would not admit that, not even to himself.

The first conflict had come quicker than he expected, when Thundercracker had gotten mad about the way he stored his laundry (maybe he needed it strewn across the floor to better judge if it needed to be washed or not, what did Thundercracker even know).

He had already been prepared for that to be the end of their deal. Maybe their weird morals were not strong enough to keep him out of reach of the twins. But he could at least try to shut Thundercracker down by showing him how ridiculous he was being.

To his surprise, TC had tried to find a solution with him, talk to him about why the laundry was a problem. Starscream almost enjoyed the argument, watching the taller getting worked up about such a minor thing, pushing his buttons. But at the same time, Thundercracker being willing to find a solution for all of them had been new to him. That was not how other people had approached him about his behavior so far, most deeming it too ridiculous to take seriously. Thundercracker was honestly trying and that, no matter how laughable the matter of their debate was, was not lost on Starscream.

He had cursed himself and Thundercracker for it later when he snuck out during a lecture to buy snacks for Skywarp. Apologizing for making the other two clean up his mess was _so_ off the table, but he could make it up to them in some other way. (It had not even really been a mess! They just could not deal with his way of ordering things.)

It was not like he cared about his new roommates. Their relationship was strictly built on necessity.

That had been what he told himself as he stood in front of the store shelves, wondering which of these colorful products Skywarp preferred. Thinking about it now almost made him groan at himself. Had he really been that blind?

He had found himself more and more entertained by the other two, quickly started enjoying their company and even his fights with Thundercracker. Having anyone actually try to be his friend was refreshing. They even put up with his mood swings, always trying to reason with him. He had thought of them as stupid for it, but could not help the genuine fondness he started feeling for them, on top of the whole attraction thing.

Maybe he had not wanted or needed friends, but he had certainly been able to imagine being friends with these two despite that.

And then their first real fight had come, roughly a month after he had moved into their room.

“ _This is about me being unable to put up with you any longer!”_

It still hurt to recall those words, even though he knew TC had not meant them, probably did not even remember ever saying them to him. At the time, they had instantly destroyed any hope (which had formed before he could stop it) that maybe he meant something to them, that maybe for once in his life someone actually cared about him, was willing to see past his flaws, wanted him around, _liked_ him.

Crying in front of them for the first time had been humiliating.

Storming off when the terror twins were still trying to catch him alone had been foolish to say the least.

Maybe he had overreacted, but subtlety had never been his strength and his emotions were no exception to that.

Then they had saved him from Cliffjumper and his team and the day had ended with him sandwiched between both of them, much like he was right now. And that had been when the butterflies had first started showing up when he was around them.

At first, he had thought it was just leftover adrenaline combined with the fact that he was not used to physical proximity like that. But it never quite went away and he was never able to understand why.

It had gone on like that through most of their college days, and at first it seemed to get better. He had stopped overreacting to their proximity, even started to actively seek it out. He spent most of his time around them without the feeling being too noticeable. Whether they were dancing together (which involved a lot of close proximity and touching), or just hanging out like they always were, it seemed fine.

He had felt comfortable around them. In a way, he had considered them his own, his 'trine', as Skywarp had called it. The word had stuck somehow, with all three of them using it for each other, for their little group. Having a name for their relationship also meant he did not need to give one to his emotions. He liked being close to them. He liked doing everything with them; he felt so comfortable and _good_ around them, because they were his _trine_. Simple as that. It was a special bond they shared. How could ordinary words describe what they had, what he felt?

That sentiment had lasted until Skywarp started telling him that he loved him.

It had first happened when they had all already moved in together. He and Thundercracker had been reading on the couch in their living room, Starscream in his usual position with his head in TC's lap, when Skywarp had stormed in.

“I'm having a drink with Astrotrain and the others. I'll see you later, love you two!”

TC had nodded absentmindedly, not looking up from his book. “Yeah, sure. Have fun, Warp.” Starscream had felt his face heat up and could not think of anything to hide it other than practically slamming his face into his own book. “See you later.” He had mumbled, but the door had already closed behind Skywarp.

He had tried not to think about it too hard. TC had not seemed to think anything of it, so why should he? It was just Skywarp being Skywarp.

Skywarp being Skywarp by telling him over and over again. Every time he left the apartment, every time he hugged him, every time he peppered his face with kisses, every time Starscream left the apartment. _Love_? In a romantic sense? As in, like a romantic relationship? It had brought up a new possibility for that feeling he was trying not to name. But such a basic answer to what he was feeling did not satisfy him. He refused to believe it, refused that could be the name of his emotions!

… but would it really be a bad thing if that was what it was?

Yes! Yes, of course it would be bad! He was not about to make himself look vulnerable like that! He did not do love or relationships. He usually did not even do friendships. He had no intention of giving the other two a reason to end the trine. If he made it weird, they would leave him, like everyone else had before them.

It confused him. They confused him, his own emotional reaction to it confused him.

So he had done the one thing he knew would distract him from it all: He threw himself head-first into his lab work. And at first, that worked great. Better than great! Because he was distracted and because at some point during that time period, they had decided to show up at the lab with cupcakes they (or probably just TC) had made for him. Then _Thundercracker_ started saying it to him, too. For a second, he had almost been angry about it. Here he was, finding a solution for himself and they tried to make it harder on him as a team, those stupid bullies.

But then he had thought about it. If those two were saying it to each other now, they could not mean it in a romantic sense, because _they_ were not a couple.

Right?

They would have told him about something like that. He was their trinemate after all, so they would tell him about a development like that in their relationship.

That new revelation had saved him from a lot of sleepless nights at first. They were trine. No other name for it, simple as that.

And then he had made a fatal mistake. Recalling it still made him curl into himself, the butterflies getting strong enough to make him whimper quietly.

One day, when he had gotten home from the lab, TC and Skywarp had invited him to join their movie night. TC had made them food and they had spent the night cuddled together on the couch in their pajamas. Not an unusual occurrence for them.

Until Skywarp (of course it was him) had produced a fancy-looking bottle of purple, shimmery liquid with a huge grin on his (stupid, beautiful) face. He still remembered that they had not even gotten glasses, and instead had just passed the bottle around, taking swigs.

The stuff had been _strong_. Even Starscream had to admit that he was already pretty bad at holding his liquor, and the purple liquid had him giggly and buzzed after what could not have been more than two shots of it. When he had started slurring his words, TC took the bottle from him with a laugh, placing it just out of reach on the floor in front of him, only for Starscream to scramble towards it, trying to grab it. In the process, he almost fell off the couch, but Skywarp caught him around the waist, somehow turning him so he was facing them and pulled him back onto the couch as TC giggled.

Still a little shaken, Starscream had looked up at them from where he was now kneeling between them and it had just... hit him. Of course he loved them. Of course he was _in love_ with them. What else could this possibly be?

For a moment, the realization felt freeing, genuine happiness filling his chest for once. Without thinking, he had reached for both of their shoulders, pulling them closer to himself and had carefully pressed a shy kiss to each of their cheeks.

As he pulled back, he was faced with a surprised looking Thundercracker and a stunned Skywarp.

The butterflies had caught up to him, hitting him with full force.

Oh no.

He could not handle this. Primus, he was such a fool. He had to get out of this situation immediately.

Stammering, he had made up some excuse and swiftly got up, leaving them in the living room and locking himself in his own room. There, he had wrapped himself in his blanket, trying to calm his breathing.

So he was in love with them. Big deal. That did not have to change anything between them. Not if he could help it.

So he kissed them. That did not have to change anything, either. Skywarp kissed him all the time, and Thundercracker had started doing it, too, though not to the same extend as Skywarp.

And he was a little drunk. If they ever brought it up he could use that as an excuse. He was fine. He was fine!

Finally coming to terms with his own emotions had not changed his resolution. He could not risk breaking the trine. They were too important to him to risk having them reject him. Dealing with his own feelings was something he could do. Even though maybe he was not very good at it.

Okay, he definitely was not good at it. At all.

But it had been his preferred option. It still was. Because rejection hurt more than this. He was familiar with rejection of all kinds. And rejection from people he genuinely cared about was not something he was ready to face.

He had faced enough this week.

Shuddering, he curled further into himself and took a shaky breath. If he had never vented his conflicting emotions to Megatron... a voice that sounded suspiciously like Thundercracker told him not to go down that path. He squeezed his eyes shut. They still burned from crying and he could feel a fresh wave of tears coming.

He could not stay here and cry between them. That would wake them up and they would be worried and that would only make it worse for him. Before the sobs could start, he carefully disentangled himself from the other two and slipped out of their embrace, quickly making his way down the hall.

The guest bedroom was the first door he reached and so he quickly got inside, making sure to close the door behind himself as quietly as he could. The first sob ripped itself from his throat the moment the door was shut. The bed was just the frame, the mattress, pillows and blankets usually covering it missing and so, without thinking, he cowered down in a corner of the room, hiding his face behind his knees. The sobs took over his body as he shook, tears streaming down his face.

He grit his teeth. TC and Skywarp had been right from the start. Megatron _had_ tried to manipulate him into spending less time with them. And it had worked. Not only did he make sure Starscream would spend more time with him than he did with them, when they had quit their jobs at the company, it had taken very little convincing from Megatron to get him to stop talking to them altogether, to give up on them.

After the most miserable weeks of his life, they had sat in front of his apartment when he came home from work one day. TC had been carrying boxes from Starscream's favorite restaurant and Skywarp was holding a cake that looked homemade, but not in a bad way. They had smiled at him, kindness and uncertainty on their faces.

“Hey, Star, we brought dinner. Let's talk?”

How could he say no to that?

He wiped at his eyes, his tears now caused by anger. Why had Megatron tried to take them from him? Sniffling a little, he regarded the tear-stains on the silken nightshirt he was wearing. He could not find an answer that made sense to him.

_Vop._

A loud gasp escaped him, followed by an attempt to scramble further into the corner he was sitting in. Skywarp had materialized in the middle of the room. Primus, that would not stop being terrifying. “Skywarp!” He hissed, while hastily trying to wipe the tear tracks off his face.

Skywarp seemed tired, but mostly relieved to see him. “Sorry, force of habit.” He mumbled, and made his way over to where Starscream was sitting. “'Habit?'” Starscream asked incredulously, trying to steer the conversation away from himself, but Skywarp ignored his remark. Instead, he gently asked: “Can I sit with you for a bit?”

Avoiding his buff trinemate's eyes, Starscream nodded after a moment of hesitation. The smile on Skywarp's face was tired as he sat down next to Starscream, careful not to crowd him, leaning against the wall.

For a few minutes, neither of them said anything and Starscream tried his best to hide the signs that he had been crying, even though part of him knew that Skywarp was probably aware.

The purple-clad Seeker spoke up first, his voice sad despite the smile on his face as he stared at a spot somewhere on the carpet in front of him. “I'm sorry the whole sleepover thing didn't work for you. I didn't mean to force you into anything, I just thought...” He shrugged, turning his head away.

“I probably shouldn't have thought. Never was any good at that.” He muttered, and for a split-second, Starscream thought he might have imagined it. Skywarp continued on, still not facing him. “Not sleeping alone helps me with nightmares. So I just assumed.” He finally looked at Starscream, his smile gone. “I'll gladly put stuff back for you to sleep on, here or upstairs. Please don't think you have to sleep in the living room with us just because we said it would makes us happy.”

It took him a moment to process what Skywarp was talking about, but he slowly shook his head once he did. “It's not that. It... it did help.” He finally admitted, and the other's relief was almost palpable in his body language. Starscream decided he owed him some honesty. “I woke up and just... thought. About things.” He choked. “I started crying and I didn't want to wake you, so I left.”

His gaze never met Skywarp's. “That didn't work obviously.” He muttered bitterly. His buff trinemate shook his head. “You didn't wake me. I've been awake for a while.” A sigh. “Similar situation, honestly. I heard you whimper. I thought you were having a nightmare until you got up.”

It took Starscream a moment to understand what he was talking about. Whimper? When had he-?

Oh. When he had recalled kissing them.

Oh no.

Then, thankfully, the rest of what Skywarp had said hit him. _A similar situation_?

He looked over at Skywarp, _really_ looked at him. His eyes were downcast and he seemed paler than usual. Starscream realized with a start that he had tears drying on his cheeks. He had never seen Skywarp cry before.

It scared him. Skywarp was rash, unreined, and so were his emotions. But his sadness was never much more than him looking like a sad puppy for a few seconds before it was replaced by another emotion. It never lingered long enough to make him cry. This was so uncharacteristic of him. He did not know how to react.

“S-Sky? What's wrong?”

He wanted to kick himself. After the past day, everything was wrong, with all of them. He had seen it catch up to TC, to him, and of course it affected Skywarp, too.

When Skywarp replied, he sounded so small Starscream almost did not recognize his voice. “Is it okay if I tell you? I don't want to unload this on you.”

Doubt hit Starscream with a force he did not expect. He was the wrong trinemate for this. Emotional labor was not something he did, the other two always went to each other for that. But he had asked, and Skywarp seemed to need it. He decided he could at least try.

“I can listen.” He offered weakly.

His trinemate looked up and the pain on his face seemed endless. A laugh escaped him regardless, obviously faked. “Primus, this is stupid compared to what happened to you. It's just... I'm dumb. My reaction today was dumb.” His eyes met Starscream's and he could see the pain morphing into anger.

“He hurt you. He hurt you two so bad and I... I was too late to prevent it.” He angrily wiped at his eyes. “I couldn't let myself feel anything negative. I can't teleport if my emotions are like that.” Reaching for the nightstand next to the bed frame, he pulled out a box of tissues and placed it between them. “I felt like I was betraying you somehow. You went through all that and I couldn't even have the emotional response I wanted to have to it all because that would make me useless to my team.”

He huffed and somehow aggressively blew his nose before slumping. “I'm sorry. It's dumb.”

Starscream thought for a moment, taking a tissue from the box and cleaning his face a little. “Honestly, the only dumb thing I see here is that you don't have to feel bad about that.” He said, not looking up at Skywarp. “TC and I aren't blaming you or anything. At least I'm not. And I can't imagine TC is.” Meeting Skywarp's gaze, he added. “It was about to get even worse when you showed up. You prevented some terrible things today.”

Hugging his knees, he continued, words slightly muffled. “It's not like you don't care. You care so much, you're willing to manipulate your own emotions in order to function. That's impressive.” When he looked back at Skywarp, the latter seemed stunned. “You even managed to teleport in here, which, just for the record, terrifying.” He shook his head. “You're okay, Sky.” With a boost of courage and a rush of heat to his face he added: “Much more than okay.”

Starscream was not sure what he had expected, but it was not for his trinemate to start giggling. A confusing mix of relief from seeing the usual Skywarp, and indignation from being laughed at after being so honest washed over him.

“What are you laughing at?” He asked, trying to sound unaffected, but not quite succeeding. Skywarp looked at him, and the affection in his smile told Starscream he had meant no harm. “Nothing. I just thought-” He hesitated for a moment. “You've somehow changed a lot since we first met, but also really haven't at all. At the same time.”

Starscream swallowed. “Is... is that a bad thing?” He sounded small asking that.

Skywarp grinned at him. “Nah. You changed your behavior towards us when we asked you to. Even if it often took you a while.” Starscream pouted a little at that, but Skywarp went on. “But you're still the same person. You're still that little Seeker we met back in college. The one we chose to move in with. Our third. Our trinemate, who we love.”

The butterflies hit Starscream extra hard that moment. He quickly hid his face in his hands to hide the fact that its color was rivaling his eyes. “Skywarp... please.” He mumbled, trying to sound exasperated, but failing.

He missed the sad smile Skywarp gave him. “I'm just teasing, Star.”

Starscream glared at him through his fingers, making him giggle a little. Then, the smaller yawned, not managing to suppress it in time.

“Let's get you back to bed.” Skywarp said gently, getting up and offering Starscream a hand. He took it after a moment of hesitation, allowing Skywarp to pull him to his feet.

Skywarp shuddered visibly. “Primus, you're freezing cold!” He exclaimed, taking both of Starscream's hands in his. His eyes widening, Starscream involuntarily started to tremble as the temperature contrast between their hands made him aware of how cold he was.

“I'm fine.” He muttered, but his buff trinemate shook his head. “Yeah, no. You're not catching a cold on my watch.” Then, his voice suddenly became quiet, laced with uncertainty. “So... will you come back to the living room with me?”

Surprised at his tone, Starscream looked up from their linked hands to Skywarp's eyes, only to find his trinemate avoiding his. “I can also just put some of the stuff here. Like I said, we'd understand.”

He could not help but snort. “And like _I_ said, the sleepover helped.”

Maybe it was because his taller trinemate suddenly lacked the confidence he usually seemed to have enough of for all of them. Or maybe it was just to combat the cold.

With a surge of courage he could not find before, Starscream closed the short distance between them and pressed himself against Skywarp. “Let's go back, TC is probably lonely.”

Strong arms immediately wrapped around him. “You really are cold.” Skywarp whispered, carefully lifting his shorter trinemate bridal-style. His face still (or once again?) red, Starscream wrapped his arms around Skywarp's neck. “I can walk, you know.” He said, but there was no malice behind it. Skywarp grinned.

“Yeah, but you can't teleport.”

Starscream's face fell a little. “Please don-”

Vertigo hit him like a wave, overpowering his senses, rendering him silent for a split-second. He squeezed his eyes shut, completely out of equilibrium. The brunt of it left as quickly as it came, but some of it lingered, making him dizzy. He felt Skywarp moving to put him down and clung harder to him.

“No! Hold me.” He hissed into his shoulder. Then, quieter. “Primus, I'm going to kill you.” Skywarp's shoulder shifted against his face as its owner tried to suppress his laughter. He felt a kiss being pressed to his temple. “It'll pass in a minute, don't worry.” Starscream opened his eyes to glare at him, only to be overwhelmed by the visual input. Groaning, he buried his face against Skywarp's shoulder.

“Did you honestly just teleport us to the other side of the door?”

He felt as Skywarp started walking. “Yeah, I didn't want to scare TC.” Still clinging to him, Starscream muttered. “I take back everything I just said about you. You're mean and you don't care.”

“Aww, Star, you don't really think that.”

“You don't know that.”

A sleepy voice interrupted their bickering. “Hey... are you guys okay?”

Starscream looked up, the dizziness thankfully slowly stopping, turning his head to see TC sitting up a little in their nest. His hair was a mess and he could barely keep his eyes open. If it had not been for the huge bruise on his face, he would have looked completely adorable, Starscream thought to himself.

Skywarp quickly crossed the distance between them and the nest. Still holding Starscream, he knelt down on it and nuzzled the side of TC's face that was not bruised. “Yeah, we're okay. Just some bad thoughts that needed out. Sorry for waking you up, TC.”

Thundercracker happily accepted Skywarp's kisses before answering, his voice thick with sleep. He might have been able to get up earlier than them, but that required him to get a good night's sleep. Otherwise he barely functioned. Skywarp and Starscream both thought it was cute, even though they rarely got to see him in that state.  
  
“S'okay. I was awake before you came back.” He slurred slightly. Then, quietly. “I missed you. Don't just disappear.”

Skywarp finally set Starscream down between them, settling in behind him. “We won't, TC. Don't worry.”

With a nod, TC covered himself with his blanket, trying to do the same for Starscream, who took it from him. “It's okay, Thunder. You can rest.”

TC held his gaze for a moment, touching a single finger to Starscream's chest, above his heart, before touching the same hand to his own, making Starscream's breath stall ever so slightly. Then, his eyes closed.

Starscream looked over at Skywarp, puzzled, but Skywarp had already closed his eyes as well. He willed his heart to stop pounding and pulled his blanket up to his chin. As the warmth of the other two quickly lulled him to sleep, he thought he could feel his trinemates' hands entangling on top of his blanket once more.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Skywarp honestly started to feel a little underdeveloped when I reread the earliest chapters.  
> I also kind of regret making TC the POV character in chapter 4.  
> In retrospect I probably should have used those to let Starscream's feelings develop more organically instead of putting it all into one semi-flashback chapter.  
> But! I'm still learning and next time it'll be better.  
> I hope you enjoyed this chapter regardless.
> 
> Again, I'm still guessing two more chapters after this one.  
> This feels like a bit of an interlude but it also felt necessary tbh.
> 
> And again:  
> Don't worry, I promise we'll get there. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)


End file.
